The Supreme Court reserved its verdict on Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal’s plea challenging his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case linked to the alleged excise scam but granted him the liberty to move the trial court for regular bail.
Verdict Reserved
A bench comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta reserved its judgement after hearing senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi and Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, who appeared for Kejriwal and the federal probe agency, respectively.
“Arguments heard. Judgement reserved. Notwithstanding the same, and without prejudice to rights and contentions, the appellant can move the trial court for grant of bail in accordance with law,” the bench stated.
The top court reviewed the case files and statements of the witnesses and accused recorded after October 30, 2023, the day senior AAP leader Manish Sisodia’s bail plea was rejected. Sisodia is an accused in both the corruption and money laundering case linked to the alleged scam.
The Controversial Arrest
The AAP Leader was arrested on March 21 in the money laundering case. The top court granted him interim bail from May 10 to June 1 for campaigning in the Lok Sabha elections, ordering him to surrender on June 2 and return to jail.
However, the court barred Kejriwal from visiting his office or the Delhi secretariat and signing official files unless absolutely necessary for obtaining the lieutenant governor’s approval.
The matter pertains to alleged corruption and money laundering in the formulation and execution of the Delhi government’s excise policy for 2021-22, which has now been scrapped.
