A court in Delhi has reserved its decision on an application for interim bail filed by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. The ruling, which pertains to a money laundering case connected to the alleged excise policy scam, is scheduled to be announced on June 5. This also means that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief will have to surrender at Tihar jail on June 2. Special Judge Kaveri Baweja reserved the order, observing that the application was for grant of interim bail on medical grounds and not for the extension of the interim bail granted by the Supreme Court. Kejriwal's interim relief granted by the apex court ends on June 1 and he has to surrender by Sunday.
Why Kejriwal sought extension of interim bail?
Earlier on Wednesday, the Supreme Court registry refused urgent listing of Kejriwal's plea seeking extension of his interim bail by seven days for undergoing certain medical tests, saying since he was given liberty to move the trial court for regular bail, the plea was not maintainable. The AAP leader had sought extension of his interim bail to undergo a host of medical tests, including a PET-CT scan, in view of "sudden and unexplained weight loss coupled with high ketone levels", which are indicative of kidney, serious cardiac ailments and even cancer.
The top court had on May 10 granted 21-day interim bail to the chief minister to enable him to campaign during the Lok Sabha polls. It had directed him to surrender on June 2, a day after the last phase of the seven-phase poll gets over.
Kejriwal is out on interim bail
After being released from jail on May 10, Kejriwal has been involved in campaigning for the I.N.D.I.A bloc for the ongoing Lok Sabha polls. The bail is applicable till June 1 and the Delhi CM has to surrender to authorities on June 2. He has been allowed to participate in the poll campaigning but can not attend his office as Chief Minister. Imposing certain conditions while granting Kejriwal interim bail, the apex court said he would not interact with any of the witnesses or have access to any official files connected with the case.
Why was Kejriwal arrested?
It is pertinent to mention here that Kejriwal was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in an excise policy case on March 21, days after the election schedule for the general elections was announced. The matter relates to alleged corruption and money laundering in the formulation and execution of the Delhi government's now-scrapped excise policy for 2021-22. It is alleged that the Delhi government's excise policy for 2021-22 to grant licences to liquor traders allowed cartelisation and favoured certain dealers who had allegedly paid bribes for it, a charge repeatedly refuted by the AAP.
(With inputs from PTI)
