In a turn of events, the Delhi High Court on Friday temporarily stayed the trial court order granting bail to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in a money laundering case related to the now-scrapped excise policy. The court said the trial court order will remain on hold till the time it is hearing the ED’s case.
This comes after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) approached the Delhi High Court challenging the trial court. The plea was urgently mentioned before a Vacation Bench comprising Justices Sudhir Kumar Jain and Ravinder Dudeja by Additional Solicitor General (ASG), SV Raju, on behalf of the ED.
“I am moving for an urgent stay. The order was pronounced yesterday at 8. The order is not uploaded. We were not given a clear opportunity to oppose bail,” ASG Raju argued.
ASG Raju further said that his prayer for a stay on the bail order wasn’t even considered.
“I am demanding that the order be stayed and the matter be heard as soon as possible. We were denied the full opportunity to argue the case. I am making allegations with full seriousness,” he stated.
Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing CM Kejriwal, opposed the stay request, citing legal precedents.
“There are ten Supreme Court judgments that cancellation of bail is radically different from grant of bail,” Singhvi contended.
After hearing arguments from both sides, the High Court directed that the bail order should not be enforced until the matter is heard in full.
“The bail order will not be given effect. We have not passed the final order. You may argue for as much as you can,” the Bench stated, effectively halting CM Kejriwal’s release.
The court has scheduled the matter for a hearing later in the day on Friday.
AAP MP Slams Govt
AAP leader Sanjay Singh on Friday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of making a mockery of the justice system after the Delhi High Court put on hold the trial court order granting bail to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the money laundering case linked to the alleged excise scam.
Taking to X, Singh said in a post in Hindi, “Look at the hooliganism of the Modi government, the trial court’s order has not yet come, even a copy of the order has not been received, so Modi’s ED reached the High Court to challenge which order? What is happening in this country? “Modi ji, why are you making a mockery of the justice system? The whole country is watching you?” the AAP MP said.
Trail Court Granted Bail To Kejriwal
A trial court in Delhi on Thursday granted him bail in a money laundering case stemming from the alleged excise scam. Special Judge Niyay Bindu also declined the Enforcement Directorate’s prayer to keep in abeyance the bail order for 48 hours to allow the central agency to avail legal remedies like moving a superior court in appeal.
The judge ordered Kejriwal’s release on a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh but imposed certain conditions before granting him the relief, including that he would not try to hamper the investigation or influence the witnesses.
The judge also directed Kejriwal to appear before the court whenever required and to cooperate with the investigation.
Case Against Kejriwal
The ED had arrested Kejriwal on March 21, shortly after the Delhi High Court refused to grant him protection from arrest on his petition challenging summonses issued to him.
On May 10, the Supreme Court had granted interim bail to Kejriwal till June 1 to campaign in the Lok Sabha elections, saying he will have to surrender and go back to jail on June 2. Kejriwal had surrendered before Tihar jail authorities on June 2 and has been there since then.
The trial court had on June 5 denied him interim bail which he sought citing several ailments.
Comments
0 comment