May 7th 2024.
In a recent development, the Supreme Court expressed its disapproval of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal resuming his official duties if he is released on interim bail in the money laundering case linked to the alleged excise policy scam. The court believes that this would lead to a conflict of interest and has not granted him interim bail to allow him to campaign in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
Kejriwal, who is currently in Tihar Jail under judicial custody, was arrested on March 21. Despite his efforts, a two-judge bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta did not announce an order granting him interim bail. The bench also expressed concerns about the possible "cascading effect" of allowing Kejriwal to attend his office while out on bail.
During the hearing, senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, representing Kejriwal, assured the court that the CM would not deal with any files related to the excise policy. However, he later added that Kejriwal would also not sign any official files if released on interim bail, as long as the Delhi lieutenant governor does not reject decisions solely based on the lack of the CM's signature.
The bench, however, reminded Singhvi that the question of interim bail was still pending and that they needed to determine if it could be granted in the first place. On the other hand, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Enforcement Directorate, strongly opposed any leniency towards Kejriwal on the grounds of the ongoing Lok Sabha polls. He argued that granting interim bail to the AAP leader would create a separate class for politicians and set a bad precedent.
The bench clarified that they were not considering the case from the perspective of a politician, but rather from the standpoint of an individual who may be in an exceptional circumstance, given the upcoming elections. Mehta then presented his argument that if the court grants relief to Kejriwal, it will open the doors for others to seek similar exemptions. He emphasized that this would create a separate class for politicians and questioned the importance given to a politician's campaigning over an agriculturist's harvesting season.
The bench also noted that Kejriwal is not a habitual offender and that the ongoing Lok Sabha elections make this an extraordinary situation. They also asked the Enforcement Directorate why it took them so long to probe the case and requested to see the case files before and after the arrest of Delhi's former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, who is also an accused in the case. The court also asked for the case files of the period prior to Kejriwal's arrest.
During the three-hour-long hearing, Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, representing the ED, provided the court with statements of witnesses and accused in the case. The court also questioned the ED's delay in the investigation and asked for the case files to be produced.
The main petition challenging Kejriwal's arrest remains pending as the hearing was inconclusive. The case pertains to alleged corruption and money laundering in the formulation and execution of the Delhi government's now-scrapped excise policy for 2021-22.
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