New Delhi:
The Supreme Court is likely to pronounce today on anticipatory bail to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on March 21 in a money laundering case related to the alleged liquor policy scam and is seeking release. from jail to campaigning for the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.
A bench comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta had reserved its judgment on the interim bail for Mr Kejriwal on May 7.
Mr Kejriwal, who is also the national president of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), is currently under judicial custody in Tihar Jail.
The court has divided the hearing on Kejriwal's petition against his arrest into two parts. While his main petition challenges his arrest by the Central Bureau of Investigation and seeks to declare it as “illegal”, the second aspect pertains to grant of interim bail keeping in mind the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.
The Delhi High Court had on April 9 upheld the AAP chief's arrest, saying there was no illegality and the probe agency had “little option” after he skipped repeated summonses and refused to participate in the investigation in connection with alleged irregularities in the current situation. has scrapped Delhi's excise policy for 2021-2022.
Earlier on Tuesday, a Delhi court extended Kejriwal's custody in the money laundering case till May 20.
ED is against Arvind Kejriwal's bail
The ED on Thursday filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court opposing Arvind Kejriwal's petition and said laws are equal for all and campaigning for the Lok Sabha polls is not a fundamental, constitutional or even a legal right .
The probe agency said no political leader has ever been granted bail for his campaign and said releasing Mr Kejriwal from jail to canvass for AAP candidates would set a wrong precedent.
In its affidavit, the ED pointed out that the court while hearing the bail plea of former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia – a co-accused in the same case – had said that the laws apply equally to all citizens and institutions, including the state.
Stating that Mr Kejriwal had applied for anticipatory bail mainly on account of his campaigning in the Lok Sabha elections, the agency stated: “It is pertinent to note that the right to campaign is neither a fundamental right nor a constitutional right and not even a legal right.”
The agency also submitted that 123 elections have taken place in the last five years and if interim bail is granted to Mr Kejriwal for campaigning, no politician can be kept in judicial custody as elections take place throughout the year .
Reiterating an argument it had made during the last hearing, the ED said campaigning is part of a politician's job and small farmers or petty traders, as per the rule of equality, can also apply for interim bail to meet the demands of to fulfill their work. It was also highlighted that Mr Kejriwal is not even contesting the ongoing elections.
The agency said granting bail to the Delhi Chief Minister would set a precedent that would allow “all unscrupulous politicians” to commit crimes and then evade investigation, citing campaigning for one election or the other.
Final Supreme Court hearing on Arvind Kejriwal's bail
During the last hearing, the Supreme Court said that it does not matter whether the petitioner is a politician or not. According to the court led by Justice Sanjiv Khanna, the focus was on whether there was an exceptional circumstance that made interim bail necessary.
The Supreme Court also said that Arvind Kejriwal is the elected Chief Minister of Delhi and is not a habitual offender.
“There is an election… these are extraordinary circumstances and he is not a habitual offender,” the bench had said.
The bench also asked the ED why it took them two years to act against the chief minister and his party.
“The problem is that it took two years to do this. It is not good for any research agency to say that it will take two years to excavate the find… when will the process start now,” it asked.
All seven seats in Delhi will vote in the sixth of the seven phases of the Lok Sabha elections on May 25.