India

Arvind Kejriwal granted interim bail, to remain in jail

Arvind Kejriwal.

New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was granted interim bail by the Supreme Court in a money-laundering case filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), but he will remain in jail due to a separate arrest by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta noted that Kejriwal has been incarcerated for over 90 days.

Kejriwal, also the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief, was arrested by the ED on March 21 in connection with the alleged Delhi liquor policy scam. He challenged the Delhi High Court’s April 9 order upholding his arrest, citing his failure to comply with summonses.

Despite the interim bail, Kejriwal remains in jail due to his June 26 arrest by the CBI on related corruption charges. He has sought bail in this case, with the Delhi High Court set to hear arguments on July 17.

Previously, the Supreme Court had granted Kejriwal 21-day interim bail on May 10 to campaign for the Lok Sabha elections, with a directive to surrender on June 2. However, a trial court granted him bail on June 20, which the ED contested. The Delhi High Court stayed this bail order and later issued a detailed order on June 25.

The GoI agencies allege that irregularities occurred in the Delhi government’s 2021-22 excise policy, favouring certain licence holders. The Kejriwal-led government initially introduced this policy to curb black marketing and increase revenue but later reverted to the old policy.

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