[BREAKING] Arvind Kejriwal Withdraws Bail Plea From Supreme Court In ED Case To File New Petition

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Today (June 26th) withdrew his plea before the Supreme Court challenging the interim stay imposed by Delhi High Court on the bail granted by trial court in the money laundering case connected to the now scrapped Delhi excise policy.

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[BREAKING] Arvind Kejriwal Withdraws Bail Plea from Supreme Court in ED Case to File New Petition

NEW DELHI: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday withdrew his plea before the Supreme Court, which challenged the interim stay imposed by the Delhi High Court on the bail granted by the trial court in the money laundering case connected to the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy.

Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing Kejriwal, indicated that a final stay order had been passed by the High Court the previous day, necessitating a fresh challenge.

“Since a final stay order was passed by the High Court yesterday, he would like to challenge the same as well,”

–Singhvi stated.

Kejriwal’s initial plea only contested the interim stay order issued by the High Court on June 21.

A bench comprising Justices Manoj Misra and SVN Bhatti allowed the request and permitted Kejriwal to file a new plea.

On Tuesday, the Delhi High Court imposed a stay on the trial court’s bail order. Justice Sudhir Kumar Jain of the High Court criticized the trial court for not thoroughly considering the material submitted by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and for not providing the ED adequate opportunity to present its case.

The High Court’s order came in response to a plea by the ED seeking a stay on the trial court’s June 20 decision to grant bail to Kejriwal.

Kejriwal was arrested by the ED on March 21, accused of being part of a conspiracy to exploit the 2021-22 Delhi Excise Policy to benefit certain liquor sellers. The ED alleged that the kickbacks received from these liquor sellers were funneled into the Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) electoral campaign in Goa, holding Kejriwal, as the party’s National Convenor, both personally and vicariously liable for the offense of money laundering.

Kejriwal has vehemently denied these allegations, accusing the ED of running an extortion racket.

In the same case, other prominent AAP leaders, including former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and Member of Parliament Sanjay Singh, were also arrested. While Singh is currently out on bail, Sisodia remains in jail.

BACKGROUND

On June 20, the trial court granted bail to Kejriwal, ordering his release subject to a bail bond of Rs 1 lakh. Special Judge Niyay Bindu of the Rouse Avenue Court noted that the ED failed to provide direct evidence linking Kejriwal to the proceeds of the crime and did not demonstrate that another accused, Vijay Nair, acted on Kejriwal’s behalf. Additionally, the special judge remarked that the ED appeared to be biased against Kejriwal.

Immediately following the trial court’s decision, the ED approached the Delhi High Court and secured an interim stay on the bail order on June 21. In response, Kejriwal filed a plea before the Supreme Court challenging this interim stay.

However, with the High Court issuing a final stay order yesterday, Kejriwal sought the Supreme Court’s permission to file a fresh plea challenging this latest decision. The Supreme Court granted this request, allowing Kejriwal to proceed with a new challenge against the High Court’s final stay order.

This legal battle forms part of a broader political and legal struggle surrounding the Delhi excise policy, which has already seen multiple high-profile arrests and accusations. The Supreme Court’s future deliberations on Kejriwal’s forthcoming plea will be closely watched as the case continues to develop.