Supreme Court to Likely Deliver Verdict on Arvind Kejriwal’s Bail for 2024 Lok Sabha Elections in Delhi Liquor Policy Scam Case

Mr Kejriwal, who is also the national convenor of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), is currently lodged in Tihar jail under judicial custody. The bench has divided the hearing on Mr Kejriwal’s petition against his arrest into two parts. While his main petition challenges his arrest by the central probe agency and seeks it to be declared as “illegal”, the second aspect pertains to the grant of interim bail keeping in mind the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.

Earlier on Tuesday, a Delhi court extended Mr Kejriwal’s judicial custody in the money laundering case till May 20. In its affidavit, the ED pointed out that, while hearing the bail plea of former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia — a co-accused in the same case — the court had said that the laws apply equally to all citizens and institutions, including the State. It also stressed that Mr Kejriwal is not even contesting the ongoing elections.

The focus, the bench headed by Justice Sanjiv Khanna said, was on whether there was an exceptional circumstance which necessitated interim bail. “There are elections… these are extraordinary circumstances and he is not a habitual offender,” the bench had said. The bench also asked the ED why it took them two years to act against the chief minister and his party.

“The issue is that it has taken two years for this. It is not good for any investigating agency to say that it takes two years to unearth… now when will the trial start,” it asked. All seven seats in Delhi will vote in the sixth phase of the seven-phased Lok Sabha elections on May 25.