In a significant legal setback for Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, the Supreme Court declined to grant interim relief against the Delhi High Court’s stay on his bail. The apex court, led by a vacation bench comprising Justices Manoj Misra and SVN Bhatti, postponed further proceedings to Wednesday, awaiting the Delhi HC’s decision on the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) plea for an interim stay. This development follows a series of legal maneuvers surrounding Kejriwal’s bail in a money laundering case linked to an alleged excise policy scam.
BulletsIn
- The Supreme Court, in a vacation bench hearing, refused interim relief to CM Arvind Kejriwal against the Delhi HC’s stay order on his bail.
- Justices Manoj Misra and SVN Bhatti adjourned the matter to Wednesday, pending the Delhi HC’s decision on ED’s plea for an interim stay.
- Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing Kejriwal, argued against the Delhi HC’s decision, highlighting procedural irregularities and lack of reasons for the stay order.
- Singhvi emphasized the distinction between granting bail and cancelling bail, asserting that once bail is granted, it should not be reversed lightly.
- Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, representing the ED, contested Singhvi’s arguments, alleging that the trial court had not properly reviewed the case papers.
- The ED had moved the Delhi HC challenging the trial court’s bail order in the money laundering case, resulting in an interim stay on Kejriwal’s release.
- The Delhi HC’s vacation bench of Justices Sudhir Kumar Jain and Ravinder Dudeja halted Kejriwal’s release and directed that the bail order not be enforced until further hearings.
- The Delhi HC reserved its order on ED’s plea for an interim stay, promising to deliver a decision within two to three days.
- The trial court had initially denied the ED’s request for a deferral in signing the bail bond following the bail order’s pronouncement.
- The legal battle centers around allegations related to a money laundering case linked to an alleged excise policy scam, with Kejriwal’s bail status at the heart of current judicial deliberations.
