May Pass Interim Order On Kejriwal's Bail Plea On Friday: SC

The Supreme Court on Wednesday said that it may pass an interim order on bail plea in the money laundering case linked to the alleged excise policy scam of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday.

"As far as interim order etc. is concerned, we may pass that order on Friday," Live Law quoted Justice Khanna as telling ASG SV Raju, who appeared for the Enforcement Directorate.

It comes a day after Kejriwal failed to get any relief from the apex court, with a two-judge bench rising without pronouncing an order granting him interim bail to enable him to campaign in the Lok Sabha elections.

The bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta said it doesn't want Arvind Kejriwal to discharge his official duties if he is released on interim bail as it would lead to a conflict of interest.

"Suppose we grant you interim bail on account of elections. Then if you say you will attend office, it may have a cascading effect. If we give you interim bail, we don't want you to perform official duties as somewhere it will lead to conflict of interest. We don't want your interference at all in the working of the government," the bench told senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for Kejriwal.

Representing the Enforcement Directorate, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta strongly objected to any suggestion of leniency towards Kejriwal due to the Lok Sabha elections. He argued that granting interim bail to the AAP national convenor would establish a distinct category for politicians.

The bench said, "We are not going by whether it is a case of a politician or not a politician. Every particular individual involved has some special or exceptional case or circumstances. We are only considering whether this case requires an exception or if the person involved is in that exceptional circumstance, given the fact that elections are round the corner, that's all." "Please do not take it that we are saying that there's a different law followed for politicians," it added.

The case relates to alleged corruption and money laundering in the formulation and execution of the Delhi government's now-scrapped excise policy for 2021-22.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader was arrested on March 21 and is currently lodged in Tihar Jail under judicial custody.