- Monday, May 20, 2024
The bail, which will be effective till June 1, comes ahead of the national polls in Delhi on May 25.
By: Shubham Ghosh
ARVIND KEJRIWAL, one of the major opposition faces of Indian politics, on Friday (10) received a major relief when the country’s Supreme Court granted him an interim bail till June 1, the day when the final phase of the ongoing national election will be held.
Kejriwal, who is the chief minister of the northern city-state of Delhi and convener of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) — India’s economic crime-fighting agency — in March in an alleged liquor policy scam.
He has to surrender to the prison authorities by June 2, two days before the results of the national elections are announced.
The apex court said other bail conditions would be similar to those imposed on Sanjay Singh, another AAP leader, when he was given interim relief in April. A member of the Rajya Sabha or Upper House of the Indian parliament, Singh was arrested last October in the same case. He was also allowed to take part in political activities, giving the AAP a boost since he has been one of its top strategists and a good orator.
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Kejriwal is likewise expected to campaign for the party for the remaining four phases of the national election. India will go to the fourth phase of polling on May 13.
Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who appeared for Kejriwal, had sought the interim bail till June 4, the day the results will be out. That was refused. Campaigning for the seventh phase will end on May 30, two days before the election takes place.
Read: United Nations reacts to Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest: ‘We hope that in India…’
However, Kejriwal cannot attend the chief minister’s office while he is out on bail and neither can he sign any official file without the permission of Delhi’s lieutenant governor, VK Saxena. He also cannot speak on the liquor policy case or discuss the allegations against him and cannot contact any witness pertaining to the case. He also had to pay a personal bond of Rs 50,000 (£478) before his release, NDTV reported.
The AAP leader’s legal team had made a strong effort to get him released on interim bail so that he could campaign for his party and Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance, particularly for the seven parliamentary seats in Delhi that go to polling on May 25. The AAP has made an alliance with the Indian National Congress, India’s major opposition party, in Delhi. In Kejriwal’s absence, his wife Sunita Kejriwal was leading the party’s campaign in states such as Delhi and Gujarat.
On Monday (13), the AAP was set to launch the next phase of its ‘Jail Ka Jawab Vote Se’ (Respond to voting by jailing) campaign with multiple events in Delhi.
The ED, which was strongly opposed to granting bail to Kejriwal, on Thursday (9) filed an affidavit showing its objections. The agency, which has been accused of operating under the influence of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party of prime minister Narendra Modi to target political rivals before the election, said no politician could claim a “special status” higher than that of an ordinary citizen and is as liable to be arrested and detained as any other citizen on ground of offences.
In a hearing earlier this week, the court had recognised the AAP chief as an elected chief minister and not a habitual offender.
“There are elections… these are extraordinary circumstances and he is not a habitual offender,” the bench of Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Dipankar Datta had observed.
Mamata Banerjee, another opposition leader and the chief minister of the eastern state of West Bengal, welcomed the development. In a post on X, she said, “I am very happy to see that Shri Arvind Kejriwal @ArvindKejriwal has got interim bail. It will be very helpful in the context of the current elections.”
I am very happy to see that Shri Arvind Kejriwal @ArvindKejriwal has got interim bail. It will be very helpful in the context of the current elections.
— Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) May 10, 2024
