SC grants interim bail to Kejriwal till June 1
The temporary relief will allow Mr. Kejriwal to campaign in the Lok Sabha election; court orders him not to visit his oce, sign les, or comment on the liquor policy case or access related les
he Supreme Court on Friday granted interim bail to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the liquor policy case till June 1 to campaign for the Lok Sabha election.
“There is no gainsaying that General Elections to Lok Sabha is the most signicant and an important event this year, as it should be in a national election year. 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 ve years. General Elections supply the vis viva to a democracy,” a Bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta observed
TArvind Kejriwal arrives at his residence after being released from Tihar Jail.
in its order.
The court barred Mr. Kejriwal from visiting the Chief Minister’s oce or the Delhi Secretariat. He cannot sign any ocial les unless it is required to obtain the clearance or approval of the LieutenantGovernor of Delhi.
The order also prohibited
him from making any comments with regard to his role in the liquor policy case. He will not interact with witnesses or have access to ocial les connected with the case. He has been directed to furnish bail bonds worth ₹50,000, with one surety to the satisfaction of the jail superintendent. Mr. Kejriwal has to surrender on June 2, and return to custody. The court made it clear that its grant of interim bail was not a comment on the merits of the case or on the pending appeal led by Mr. Kejriwal against his arrest on March 21.
The eight-page order rejected an argument by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) that releasing Mr. Kejriwal on interim bail would create an impression among the public — and worse still, a judicial precedent — that politicians are a separate class, higher in status than the ordinary citizen and immune from arrest. Every criminal would vie to be a politician, the ED had said.
Day of the ‘globetrotters’