Arvind Kejriwal Got Bail: The Supreme Court has given its verdict on the hearing of the interim bail plea of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal who is in jail. The Supreme Court has granted bail to Arvind Kejriwal giving him relief. The Supreme Court has granted Kejriwal anticipatory bail till June 1. Kejriwal will now be able to campaign for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). Let us tell you that the ED had opposed the granting of interim bail.
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While giving the verdict, the Supreme Court said that we should not draw any uniform line. He was arrested in March and the arrest could have happened earlier or later. Now 21 days here and there will not make any difference. Arvind Kejriwal will surrender on June 2. The division bench of Justice Sanjeev Khanna and Dipankar Dutta has given this verdict.
It is known that on Thursday, ED strongly opposed the Supreme Court’s suggestion to grant interim bail to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to campaign for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Kejriwal is currently in Tihar Jail after being arrested by ED on March 21 in a money laundering case related to Delhi excise policy.
Kejriwal gets interim bail till June 1
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has got interim bail from the Supreme Court till June 1. Lok Sabha elections are due in Delhi on May 25, so Arvind Kejriwal will be able to campaign for the elections. Arvind Kejriwal got interim bail for election campaigning. Kejriwal had asked for time till July, but he has been granted bail only till June 1. While granting bail the Supreme Court said that Kejriwal was not arrested for one and a half years, nothing will happen in 21 days.
Kejriwal will have to surrender on June 2
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who is in jail in the liquor scam, has got a big relief. The Supreme Court granted interim bail to Kejriwal on Friday. The apex court had indicated this in the last hearing itself. The Supreme Court has granted interim bail to Arvind Kejriwal till June 1. The court has asked Kejriwal to surrender on June 2.
Central government is adopting double standards – Saurabh Bhardwaj
Aam Aadmi Party leader and Delhi minister Saurabh Bhardwaj said that the central government is adopting double standards. They are stopping Arvind Kejriwal’s interim bail, but have stayed the sentence of former Union minister Dilip Ray in the coal scam case. ED has opposed Arvind Kejriwal’s interim bail. It can be said that ED is batting for BJP.
Why was Kejriwal sent to jail?
Aam Aadmi Party has been continuously alleging that Arvind Kejriwal has been sent to jail because of the Lok Sabha elections. BJP does not want Kejriwal to campaign for the Lok Sabha elections. However, BJP has been completely denying all the allegations.
In the affidavit filed in the Supreme Court, the investigating agency gave these 6 arguments against Kejriwal which did not work
1- ED had said that a politician cannot claim any special privileges as compared to a common citizen. If he commits a crime, he can be arrested and detained like any other citizen.
2- In the affidavit filed by the Deputy Director of ED, it is said that it is not appropriate to treat a politician differently from a farmer or a businessman.
3- It is said in the affidavit that if election campaigning is made the basis for interim bail, it will be a violation of Article 14. On this basis, a farmer imprisoned for any crime can also ask for bail to harvest the crop and a director of a company can ask for bail to attend the annual general meeting of the company.
4- The agency said that the right to campaign for elections is neither a fundamental, nor a constitutional nor a legal right.
5- It has been said in the affidavit that till now no politician has been given interim bail for election campaign.
6- Further, the ED argued that around 123 elections have been held in five years and if interim bail is granted for election campaigning, then no politician can be arrested or sent to judicial custody as elections keep taking place throughout the year.
Arvind Kejriwal’s interim bail has been granted by a bench headed by Justice Sanjeev Khanna of the Supreme Court. Earlier, Justice Dipankar Dutta, who was part of the bench, indicated that it may consider granting interim bail to the AAP leader in view of the current general elections. He said that this is an extraordinary situation and CM Kejriwal is not a habitual offender.
Arvind Kejriwal’s complete timeline from jail to bail
November 2021: Delhi government introduced new excise policy.
July 2022: LG VK Saxena recommended a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into alleged irregularities in policy formulation and implementation.
August 2022: The CBI and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) registered cases in connection with the alleged irregularities.
September 2022: Delhi government cancels the excise policy.
October 2023: ED issues first summons to Kejriwal in money laundering case, asks him to appear for questioning on November 2.
December 2023: ED issued two summons to Kejriwal and called him for questioning on January 21 and 3.
January 2024: ED issues two more summons to Kejriwal and calls him for questioning on January 18 and February 2.
February 2024: ED filed a complaint against Kejriwal before the magistrate court for ignoring the summons. The magistrate court issued summons to Kejriwal on the ED’s complaint. ED issued three summons to Kejriwal and called him for questioning on February 19, February 26 and March 4.
March 7: Magistrate court issues summons to Kejriwal on ED’s fresh complaint regarding ignoring summons.
March 15: Sessions court refuses to stay proceedings against Kejriwal for ignoring summons.
March 16: Kejriwal appeared before the magistrate court following ED complaints about him ignoring summons.
March 21: The Delhi High Court refused to grant Kejriwal protection from arrest on his plea challenging the summons issued to him. Kejriwal was arrested by the ED shortly afterwards.
April 9: High Court rejected Kejriwal’s petition against ED arrest.
April 10: Kejriwal approaches the Supreme Court challenging the High Court order upholding ED arrest.
April 15: Supreme Court asks ED to respond by April 24 to Kejriwal’s plea challenging his arrest.
April 24: ED tells Supreme Court that Kejriwal’s conduct led the investigating officer to be satisfied that he was guilty of money laundering.
April 29: The Supreme Court questioned Kejriwal’s non-appearance before the ED despite repeated summons to record his statement and asked whether he could challenge his arrest on the ground of not recording his statement.
May 3: The Supreme Court said it may consider granting interim bail to Kejriwal in view of the ongoing Lok Sabha elections .
May 8: Supreme Court said it will pronounce order on interim bail to Kejriwal on May 10.
May 10: The Supreme Court granted Kejriwal interim bail till June 1 and said he will have to surrender and return to jail on June 2.
Arvind Kejriwal attacked BJP after coming out of Tihar Jail
After being granted interim bail by the Supreme Court, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was released from Tihar Jail on Friday evening at around 7 pm. Arvind Kejriwal addressed a large number of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders and workers present outside the jail. He launched a strong attack on the BJP. He said, “I am fighting and struggling with my body, mind and money.”
The Supreme Court today granted interim bail to Arvind Kejriwal for a period till June 1. Kejriwal was arrested on March 21. He has been released on bail for 21 days after 50 days of imprisonment.
While addressing the party workers, Arvind Kejriwal first raised the slogan of ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’. He said, “I had said that I will come soon, I have come.. First of all I want to bow at the feet of Hanuman ji, I am among you all with the blessings of Hanuman ji. Crores of people of the country have sent their blessings to me. Thanks to the judges of the Supreme Court because of whom I am among you today.” He said, “I am fighting with my body, mind and money, I am struggling.”
Kejriwal said, “It feels great to be amongst you today. I want to thank all of you. Crores of people from across the country sent me their prayers and blessings. Tomorrow at 11 am, we will meet at Hanuman Mandir in Connaught Place, go to the temple and seek blessings of Hanuman ji. Everyone should come to the temple, as many as possible.”
He said, “There will be a press conference at the party office tomorrow at 1 pm. My heartfelt thanks to everyone.”
From Congress, TMC, JMM to Shiv Sena (UBT)… opposition parties welcomed Kejriwal’s release
Congress
Congress leader Shashi Tharoor welcomed the interim bail granted to Kejriwal and said that this should have happened sooner. Tharoor said in a press conference that there was a political motive behind Kejriwal’s arrest. He asked, “Was there no political motive behind this?” He said that the Delhi Chief Minister was arrested immediately after the announcement of the Lok Sabha elections.
Trinamool Congress
West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee also welcomed the Supreme Court’s order and said, “I am very happy to see that Arvind Kejriwal has got interim bail. This will be very helpful in the context of the current elections.”
Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) chief Sharad Pawar wrote on ‘X’, “I welcome the interim bail order granted to Kejriwal by the Supreme Court.”
Kalpana Soren welcomed
Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader and wife of jailed former Jharkhand chief minister Kalpana Soren welcomed Kejriwal’s interim bail and said it is time to show that the country is being run by Baba Saheb Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar’s Constitution.
She wrote on ‘X’, “Hearty congratulations and Johar to Kejriwal on getting interim bail today. Hearty congratulations to his partner in the struggle Sunita ji and other members of the family as well.”
Shiv Sena (UBT)
Another Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aditya Thackeray said that Kejriwal getting justice and relief is a big sign of the wind of change in the country.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi called it a ‘big victory’ for Kejriwal. Chaturvedi wrote on ‘X’, “Arvind Kejriwal ji had a big victory when the Supreme Court decided to grant him interim bail. BJP’s efforts to silence the opposition are backfiring on them. We will not sit quiet, we will not bow down, no matter what happens, we will not bow down. India is watching, India is winning! Jai Hind!”
Aam Admi Party
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said that now they will fight the battle to save democracy more strongly. He said in a post on ‘X’, “Thanks to the Supreme Court… now we will fight the battle to save democracy more strongly.”
CPI
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly V.D. Satheeshan welcomed the interim bail granted by the Supreme Court to Kejriwal to campaign in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.
Vijayan said the order was a “firm reply to the BJP’s covert efforts to undermine democracy through misuse of power”, while Satheeshan called it a big blow to the Sangh Parivar’s “politics of revenge”.
Peoples Democratic Party
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti welcomed Kejriwal’s release on interim bail, saying bail is a right but it is strange that it takes so much time to get it even when the crime is not proven.
“This is very strange. Bail is a right. Until you prove a person guilty, jail is not his place and bail is his right. I am happy that Kejriwal has finally got interim bail,” Mufti told reporters in Ganderbal.
