In a significant development in the Delhi excise policy case, the Supreme Court on Friday granted interim bail to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal until June 1 for campaigning in the Lok Sabha elections.
A bench comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta said that the Delhi CM must surrender and return to jail on June 2, 2024.
The top court in its order said that at this stage, it is not possible for us to either conclude the arguments or finally pronounce the judgment.
“However, there is an intervening factor which has prompted us to consider and pass the present order, namely, 18th Lok Sabha General Elections, which are in progress. As the appeal is pending before us, we do not think it would be proper for us to direct the appellant – Arvind Kejriwal to approach the trial court for interim bail/release. This may not be apt in view of the legal issues and contentions that are under examination and consideration before us,” it added.
It is no gain saying that General Elections to Lok Sabha is the most significant and an important event this year, the court said. Between 650-700 million voters out of an electorate of about 970 million will cast their votes to elect the government of this country for the next five years.
“Given the prodigious importance, we reject the argument raised on behalf of the prosecution that grant of interim bail/release on this account would be giving premium of placing the politicians in a benefit position compared to ordinary citizens of this country,” it said.
While examining the question of grant of interim bail/release, the courts always take into consideration the peculiarities associated with the person in question and the surrounding circumstances. In fact, to ignore the same would be iniquitous and wrong, the bench said
Senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, representing Kejriwal, pleaded for interim bail until June 5, 2024, a day after the votes are counted on June 4, 2024, but the bench declined the request.
June 1 marks the culmination of the seven-phase elections, with vote counting scheduled for June 4.
The court stated that reasons for granting interim bail to Kejriwal will be provided later. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and Additional Solicitor General S V Raju, representing the Enforcement Directorate, opposed interim bail for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief, citing lack of precedents in poll campaigning cases.
The bench remarked that granting Kejriwal interim bail for 21 days would not significantly impact the case, noting that the Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) was filed in August 2022, while the chief minister was arrested on March 21 this year.
“He (Kejriwal) was out there for one-and-a-half-years. He could have been arrested earlier or later, but nothing of the sort occurred,” the bench told the ED.The court stated that Kejriwal is released on interim bail until June 2, with no restrictions on his statements during campaigning or while he is out for these 20-22 days,” he said. “
The apex court is reviewing Kejriwal’s plea challenging the Delhi High Court’s verdict last month that upheld his arrest in the case. The bench stated that arguments on Kejriwal’s plea against the arrest will resume next week, aiming to deliver a judgment on the petition before the commencement of the summer recess on May 20. 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.