No relief to Kejriwal in money laundering case
   Date :08-May-2024

No relief to Kejriwal 
 
 
 
NEW DELHI, 
 
 
 
DELHI Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal failed to get any relief from the Supreme Court on Tuesday, with a two-judge bench rising without pronouncing an order on granting him interim bail to enable him to campaign in the Lok Sabha elections. The Supreme Court bench, which initially decided to pronounce its judgement on Tuesday on the interim bail plea of CM Kejriwal in the Excise Policy case, will most likely take up the matter again on May 9 or the next week. Kejriwal has been accused of money laundering in a case linked to the alleged Delhi excise scam. A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta, which reserved its order on grant of interim bail earlier during the day and said it will be pronounced at 2 pm, rose without delivering its verdict. The bench reserved its decision after hearing the arguments put forth by senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi and Additional Solicitor General S V Raju, who appeared for Kejriwal and the Enforcement Directorate, respectively.
 
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who also appeared for the probe agency, staunchly opposed showing any leniency to Kejriwal on account of the Lok Sabha polls and said granting interim bail to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor would amount to creating a separate class for politicians. The bench has divided the hearing on Kejriwal’s petition against his arrest into two parts. His main petition challenges his arrest by the ED and seeks it to be declared as illegal, while the second aspect pertains to grant of interim bail keeping in mind the ongoing Lok Sabha polls. The court has reserved the order on the issue of grant of interim bail. Before rising for the day, the bench indicated that tomorrow the judges will be sitting in different combinations, and if the hearing on matters listed for Wednesday gets completed and the judges have time in hand, they would resume hearing Kejriwal’s plea against his arrest by the ED.
 
“If not tomorrow, then we may take up the matter on Thursday. If not on Thursday, then we will be taking up this matter next week,” said Justice Khanna, without specifying any time frame for pronouncement of verdict on the issue of interim bail. CM Kejriwal promised the court to refrain from signing any official documents if granted interim bail in connection with the case. This assurance came through his counsel, Senior Advocate A M Singhvi. Meanwhile, a Delhi court extended Kejriwal’s judicial custody in the money laundering case till May 20. Special Judge for CBI and ED matters Kaveri Baweja extended Kejriwal’s custody after the AAP leader was produced before the court through a video conference on the expiry of his remand granted earlier.