Delhi court rejects Arvind Kejriwal’s request for interim bail

The judge ordered Tihar jail authorities to get the diagnostic tests required by chief minister Arvind Kejriwal

NEW DELHI: A city court on Wednesday denied interim bail on medical grounds to Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal in a money laundering case investigated by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with the now-scrapped Delhi excise liquor policy 2021-22.

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal sought interim bail for a week to get diagnostic tests conducted (AFP)

Special judge Kaveri Baweja dismissed Kejriwal’s application for interim bail for seven days to conduct medical tests. The court has, however, ordered jail authorities to get the tests concerned conducted.

In his application, the chief minister cited severe health issues, including an aggressive form of diabetes and kidney complications that worsened during his judicial custody from April 1 to May 10. He claimed to have lost 6-7kg and attributed the deterioration in his health to conditions in jail.

Kejriwal, virtually produced before the court through video conferencing, was also remanded in judicial custody until June 19.

Kejriwal was arrested on March 21 in connection with alleged irregularities in the Delhi excise policy 2021-22, and was granted interim bail by the Supreme Court on May 10 for 21 days to enable him to campaign in the Lok Sabha elections. Kejriwal surrendered on June 2 before the jail authorities after the top court declined to extend the interim bail.

Lawyer Vivek Jain, who appeared for Kejriwal, earlier alleged discrepancies in Kejriwal’s weight which was recorded thrice upon his surrender at Tihar jail.

During the proceedings on Saturday, the Enforcement Directorate (ED), represented by solicitor general Tushar Mehta and additional solicitor general SV Raju, opposed Arvid Kejriwal’s bail request.

Mehta raised preliminary objections and said that the interim bail plea is not maintainable. He cited a press conference held by Kejriwal a day ago, saying that CM stated he would turn himself in tomorrow and omitted to mention that he was taking a chance by submitting the application for temporary bail. According to Mehta, Kejriwal was not giving up willingly. The SG further pointed out that Kejriwal continued to travel and campaign despite his claims about his poor health.

Supporting Mehta, ASG Raju argued that Kejriwal sought an extension of the interim bail granted by the Supreme Court, which the trial court lacks the authority to modify. He further alleged that Kejriwal suppressed the fact that he had sought an extension of interim bail from the Supreme Court, which was disposed of by the registry after rejecting his plea to list the application for hearing.

Senior advocate N Hariharan, representing Kejriwal, argued that the Supreme Court granted him liberty to file for bail in its May 17 order, and based on this, a regular bail application and an interim bail plea were filed. Hariharan maintained that the interim bail was necessary due to Kejriwal’s alarming medical condition and the need for carrying out medical tests.

ASG Raju rebutted this, contending that Kejriwal’s medical conditions were not sudden and could have been addressed earlier. He accused Kejriwal of attempting to delay the judicial process by not conducting timely medical tests.

The 55-year-old AAP leader was arrested by ED following the Delhi high court’s rejecting his request for an arrest shield. ED has accused Kejriwal of being involved in a conspiracy in which a ₹100-crore bribe was allegedly paid to the AAP by the South Group – a lobby of liquor dealers from the southern states that benefited from changes to the 2021-22 excise policy. Kejriwal has denied the charges.

The policy aimed to overhaul Delhi’s liquor business but was scrapped following allegations of irregularities and replaced by the 2020-21 regime

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