No relief for CM Kejriwal for now
High Court reserves decision on bail
Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal did not get relief from Delhi High Court in Delhi Excise Policy Money Laundering case. The court has stayed his bail for now and has reserved the decision. It is believed that the decision on this will come in two to three days. Till then he will have to stay in Tihar Jail. Let us tell you that on Thursday, Rouse Avenue Court had granted bail to Kejriwal. On this, ED had approached the High Court on Friday. ED demanded immediate hearing of this case. The High Court has agreed to hear the petition of ED.
ED claims that we were not given full opportunity to oppose Arvind Kejriwal's bail plea, so the bail decision of the lower court should be stayed. Arvind Kejriwal's lawyers advised ED's lawyer that you should accept the court's decision with respect. Only after the hearing of the High Court will it be clear whether Arvind Kejriwal will be released today or not. Delhi High Court says that the order of the trial court will not be implemented until it hears the petition of ED challenging the bail granted to CM Kejriwal.
Aam Aadmi Party's Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh said about ED going to High Court against Kejriwal's bail, 'Look at the hooliganism of Modi government, the order of the trial court has not come yet, even the copy of the order has not been received, then which order has Modi's ED gone to the High Court to challenge? What is happening in this country? Why are you making a mockery of the justice system, Modi ji, the whole country is watching you?'
At the same time, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal's wife Sunita Kejriwal said, 'Dictatorship has increased so much in the country that ED does not want to give any exemption to anyone. ED is treating Arvind Kejriwal like a terrorist of the country. Kejriwal's bail order was not even updated yet and ED went to the High Court to get a stay. But the decision of the High Court is yet to come and we hope that the High Court will do justice.'
On Thursday, Delhi's Rouse Avenue Court gave a big relief to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal by granting him bail in the money laundering case related to the excise policy. Earlier, Kejriwal was granted bail by the Supreme Court to campaign in the Lok Sabha elections. After that, he surrendered on June 2.
Vacation Judge Niya Bindu passed this order after hearing Kejriwal and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for two days. Earlier, he had reserved the decision after hearing the arguments of both the sides during the day. He had clarified yesterday that he would give the decision immediately after the completion of the debate as this case is high profile.
After the court pronounced the order on Thursday evening, the ED requested whether the signing of the bail bond could be postponed for 48 hours so that the order could be challenged before the appellate court. The court rejected their request and refused to stay the order. In its order, the court has accepted Kejriwal's bail on a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh. Kejriwal was arrested on March 21 by the ED on charges that he was part of a conspiracy to deliberately leave loopholes in the now-expired Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22 to benefit certain liquor sellers.
The ED has alleged that the bribes received from liquor sellers were used for the Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) election campaign in Goa and Kejriwal, being the party's national convener, is personally and vicariously liable for the offence of money laundering. Kejriwal has denied the allegations and accused the ED of running an extortion racket.