Today, On 14th October, The Delhi High Court granted the Enforcement Directorate (ED) a last and final opportunity to argue its plea challenging the June 2024 bail granted to AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal by the Rouse Avenue Court, listing the matter for November 10.
The Delhi High Court granted the Enforcement Directorate (ED) a last and final opportunity to present its arguments in the case challenging the June 2024 bail order granted to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Arvind Kejriwal by the Rouse Avenue Court.
The matter was heard by Justice Ravinder Dudeja.
During the hearing, ED’s counsel, Advocate Vivek Gurnani, sought an adjournment, stating that Additional Solicitor General (ASG) S.V. Raju, who was to argue the matter, was occupied before the Supreme Court.
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However, Senior Advocate Vikram Chaudhri, appearing for Kejriwal, strongly opposed the adjournment request.
He told the court that the ED had been delaying the matter repeatedly and said,
“ED had already sought nine adjournments and must now argue on merits.”
The court noted the repeated delays but still showed leniency.
Justice Dudeja granted one final opportunity to the ED to present its case and listed the matter for hearing on November 10, unless it is mentioned earlier.
The case concerns the ED’s challenge to the bail granted to Arvind Kejriwal in connection with the money laundering case linked to the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy.
Earlier, The Enforcement Directorate (ED) contested a trial court ruling from June 2024 that granted bail to Kejriwal in a money laundering case linked to an alleged excise policy scandal.
Trial court judge Niyay Bindu ordered Kejriwal’s release on a bail bond of ₹1 lakh, concluding that the ED seemed to be acting with bias against him.
At that time, the ED requested the court to stay Kejriwal’s release for 48 hours, but the court denied this request.
Kejriwal was arrested by the ED on March 21 of the previous year, under allegations of being part of a conspiracy to deliberately create loopholes in the now-repealed Delhi Excise Policy for 2021-22, which would benefit certain liquor vendors.
The ED claimed that kickbacks received from these vendors were funneled to support the Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) electoral campaign in Goa, asserting that Kejriwal, as the National Convenor of the party, was both personally and vicariously liable for the money laundering offense.
Kejriwal has denied these allegations, accusing the ED of operating an extortion racket.
Before the trial court granted him regular bail in the ED case, the Supreme Court had provided him with interim bail in May to enable him to campaign for the Lok Sabha elections. He returned to jail on June 2 when the interim bail period granted by the Supreme Court expired.
Afterward, the trial court approved his regular bail plea based on the merits of the case, leading the ED to appeal to the High Court.
Additionally, it is noteworthy that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had previously arrested Kejriwal in relation to a corruption case tied to the alleged excise policy scandal.
However, the Supreme Court eventually granted him bail in the CBI case in September of last year, facilitating his release from prison.
Case Title: Directorate of Enforcement vs Arvind Kejriwal
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