HC questions ED on Arvind Kejriwal's bail cancellation plea

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday asked the ED what is left of its petition seeking cancellation of bail granted to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal after he had already been granted interim bail by the Supreme Court in the excise money laundering case. The high court said it was now just an academic question and asked if the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) petition was accepted, would the agency arrest the chief minister again?

“Answer my question. What will happen if I accept your plea? Will you arrest him again?” Justice Neena Bansal Krishna asked the ED’s counsel. The counsel replied that there was no question of arrest and no one had said his arrest was illegal.

The judge also said the applications filed in the case were so well drafted that she found herself in a confusing situation. “Is this an application for bail, unlawful detention or compensation? I am confused,” she said.

On July 12, the Supreme Court granted interim bail to Kejriwal in the money laundering case and referred to a larger bench for further consideration of three questions on the aspect of “necessity and necessity of arrest” under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

But he remains in jail as he is in judicial custody in connection with the Central Bureau of Investigation corruption case arising out of the excise duty scam. At first, ED’s counsel urged the court to grant an adjournment and hear the case on Thursday as the additional solicitor general who is scheduled to argue the case was busy in another court.

The judge said it was not possible to fix the date for Thursday’s hearing and noted that the education department was no longer interested in the matter. “Last time, an adjournment was also sought. You cannot ask the court all the time as if this court has no work. You have to adjust your diary accordingly. Don’t think that the courts will give you a date overnight,” the judge said.

The ED counsel clarified that last time, it was the AAP counsel and not the investigating agency who had sought a date and urged the court to fix an early date for hearing the matter. The matter has now been listed for hearing on September 5.

On June 20, a trial court granted Kejriwal bail on a personal surety of Rs 100,000. The next day, the attorney general moved the high court and argued that the trial court’s order was “perverse”, “one-sided” and “erroneous” and that the findings were based on irrelevant facts.

On June 21, the Supreme Court temporarily stayed the trial court’s bail order till an order is passed on the ED’s interim relief application. It issued notice and asked Kejriwal to file a reply to the ED’s petition.

On June 25, the Supreme Court issued a detailed order staying the trial court’s decision. Kejriwal was arrested by the ED and the CBI on March 21 and June 26 in money laundering and corruption cases.

The excise policy was scrapped in 2022 after the Delhi Lieutenant Governor ordered a CBI probe into alleged irregularities and corruption involving its formulation and implementation. According to the CBI and the ED, irregularities were committed during the amendment of the excise policy and undue favours were given to licensees.