June 21st 2024.
The news coming from New Delhi reports that the Delhi High Court has temporarily halted the bail granted to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal by the trial court. This decision was made after the Enforcement Directorate, the agency in charge of investigating the money laundering case related to the alleged excise scam, filed a plea challenging the trial court's order.
The matter was brought before a bench of two Justices, Sudhir Kumar Jain and Ravinder Dudeja, who have decided to review the case file before making any further decisions. This means that until then, the trial court's order will not be put into action. The hearing for this case has been scheduled for later in the day.
During the hearing, the Additional Solicitor General, S V Raju, representing the ED, requested for a stay on the trial court's order that was passed on Thursday evening. He argued that the agency was not given a proper opportunity to present their case. He also pointed out that the trial court had announced their decision at 8 pm on June 20, but the order was not made available to them. Even when the ED's lawyers asked for a 48-hour hold on the order to allow them time to approach higher courts, their request was not granted.
Raju strongly stated, "I was not given enough time to present my arguments. I was not even given the chance to file written submissions within 2-3 days. This is unacceptable. I have a strong case on merit, but the trial court rushed to deliver the judgment in just half an hour. They did not give us enough time to fully argue our case." He also added, "I am making these allegations with complete sincerity."
The ASG further argued that according to Section 45 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, the public prosecutor must be given a chance to present their case, but that was not the case in this situation. He urged the court to stay the order and review the plea as soon as possible, as he believes the order cannot be allowed to stand even for a day.
On the other hand, senior advocates Abhishek Singhvi and Vikram Chaudhari, representing Kejriwal, opposed the ED's plea. They stated that the allegations made by the ED's counsel were incorrect and it was disappointing that they could not accept the decision with grace. Singhvi also remarked, "The noise and heat will not solve this problem." He referred to 10 previous judgments of the Supreme Court that state the cancellation or reversal of bail is entirely different from the grant of bail.
Chaudhari also argued, "The Supreme Court granted him (Kejriwal) liberty. This would be a grave injustice. We are here on caveat and we should be given the opportunity to present our arguments. An ex-parte order of this nature..." At this point, Justice Jain intervened and assured them that they would have the chance to argue their case once the file is brought to him.
It is worth noting that Kejriwal was arrested by the ED on March 21, after the Delhi High Court refused to provide protection from arrest while he challenged the summonses issued to him. The trial court had ordered his release on Thursday, on the condition that he pays a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh and follows certain restrictions, such as not interfering with the investigation or influencing any witnesses. The judge also asked Kejriwal to cooperate with the investigation and appear in court whenever required.
Earlier, on May 10, the Supreme Court had granted interim bail to Kejriwal until June 1, allowing him to campaign in the Lok Sabha elections. However, he was required to surrender and return to jail on June 2. Since then, he has been detained at the Tihar jail. On June 5, the trial court had rejected his request for interim bail, citing various health issues.
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