Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday moved the Rouse Avenue court seeking regular bail in the Delhi liquor excise policy case.
Arvind Kejriwal had moved the Supreme Court against his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate in March. Earlier this month, the court granted him 21-day interim bail to campaign in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.
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The court has ordered the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief to surrender before the police by June 2, a day after the culmination of the polls.
Earlier this week, Kejriwal moved the apex court seeking an extension of his interim bail. However, in a setback to the Delhi chief minister, the court refused his request for an urgent listing of his plea.
Declining his plea seeking an extension of seven days of his interim bail, the court’s office said since Arvind Kejriwal was given the liberty to move the trial court for regular bail, the petition was not maintainable.
A day before, a vacation bench of the Supreme Court said Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud could take the decision on the listing of the interim plea.
Kejriwal had submitted before the apex court that he needed the extension of seven days in order to undergo a host of medical tests, including a PET-CT scan, due to his “sudden and unexplained weight loss coupled with high ketone levels”.
In his plea, Arvind Kejriwal had said his symptoms were indicative of kidney, serious cardiac ailments and even cancer.
Earlier this month, the Enforcement Directorate had opposed his interim bail, claiming there was no precedent of a person getting released to campaign for elections.
This is the first time since Kejriwal’s arrest in the case on March 21 that he has applied for a regular bail.
The CBI and ED have accused AAP leaders of accepting kickbacks from a group of businessmen and politicians in return for crafting a policy favourable to the latter’s interest. The agencies claim a significant chunk of the alleged kickbacks was funnelled into the party’s election campaign for the Goa assembly polls.
The liquor policy was scrapped in 2022 after Delhi’s lieutenant governor ordered a CBI probe into the alleged scam.
Arvind Kejriwal was arrested after he skipped nine summonses sent by the Enforcement Directorate.
