Arvind Kejriwal Appeals To Supreme Court Over Delhi HC Bail Stay

Arvind Kejriwal, the Chief Minister of Delhi, has taken his legal battle to the Supreme Court following a stay on his bail order by the Delhi High Court in a case related to the excise policy. His legal team has requested an urgent hearing scheduled for Monday. Earlier, Kejriwal had been granted bail by a Delhi court in connection with the excise policy case. However, the Delhi High Court intervened and suspended this bail pending its decision on an appeal filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) challenging the bail order.

The High Court, through Justice Sudhir Kumar Jain, stated, “The operation of the impugned order shall remain stayed until further notice,” indicating it would take a few days to rule on the ED’s plea. During the High Court proceedings, Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, representing the ED, criticized the trial court’s bail decision as ‘lopsided’ and argued that it did not adequately consider relevant documents.

The trial court had initially granted bail to Kejriwal on Thursday, with a bail bond set at ₹1 lakh. Despite objections from the ED to delay the bond filing, the court stood firm on its decision. Kejriwal’s arrest by the ED on March 21 stemmed from his failure to respond to nine summonses related to the agency’s money laundering investigation into the defunct Delhi excise policy case.

Earlier, the Supreme Court had granted Kejriwal interim bail on May 10, allowing him to participate in the Lok Sabha polls, with instructions to surrender by June 2. Additionally, he was barred from visiting his office or the Delhi Secretariat. The excise policy in question had been annulled in 2022 following an order by the Delhi Lieutenant Governor for a CBI inquiry into allegations of irregularities and corruption during its formulation and execution.