In the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) now-deleted excise policy case, the Supreme Court on Friday granted Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal temporary release.
His plea contesting his ED detention was forwarded to a larger bench by a bench led by Justice Sanjiv Khanna.
In the ED case, the Supreme Court granted Kejriwal temporary bail, noting that the Chief Minister of Delhi had been imprisoned for ninety days and that it was aware that he was an elected official.
Kejriwal’s lawyer Rishikesh Kumar described the verdict as “a big victory.”
“The Supreme Court has granted him interim bail and the issue of Section 19 and necessity of arrest has been referred to a larger bench. CM Kejriwal will remain in custody as his bail in the CBI case is still pending. This is a big victory,” Kumar told ANI.
Supreme Court lawyer Shadan Farasat representing Kejriwal said, “The court observed that in so far as his arrest is concerned, there are certain aspects on the necessity of arrest… They said Mr Kejriwal has undergone a large period of incarceration already and therefore, directed his release and bail immediately in the ED matter.”
On May 17, the Supreme Court had set aside its decision regarding Kejriwal’s plea.
In the money laundering case filed by the ED in relation to the Delhi Excise Policy, the top court on May 10 granted Kejriwal temporary release till June 1; however, it also mandated that he refrain from visiting the Delhi Secretariat and the Office of the Chief Minister.
He turned himself in on June 2 after the court gave him the order to do so.
Kejriwal claimed that his arrest following the announcement of the General Elections was “motivated by extraneous considerations” in a petition to the highest court.
On April 9, the High Court denied his request to be released from custody and rejected his claim that the impending Lok Sabha elections were motivated by political retaliation.
The High Court had stated that Kejriwal’s refusal to comply with nine ED summonses issued over a six-month period cast doubt on his claims to special privilege as Chief Minister and implied that his detention was a necessary result of his lack of cooperation.
In connection with a money laundering investigation into purported anomalies in the since-canceled Delhi excise policy 2021–2022, he was detained by the ED on March 21.
