Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal's Bail On Hold Until HC Hears ED Plea Opposing Relief Given By Lower Court

Arvind Kejriwal bail: Delhi CM's Arvind Kejriwal's bail has been put on hold by the the high court pending a hearing of the ED plea opposing the relief.

In a major setback to Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, the Delhi High Court has put on hold his bail in the liquor policy case. The Enforcement Directorate on Friday moved the Delhi High Court, opposing Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's bail relief granted by the Rouse Avenue court on Thursday.

The High Court put on hold his bail till it heard the ED's plea in the case on Thursday. Appearing on behalf of the ED, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) SV Raju requested an urgent hearing in the matter.

Legal news website Bar & Bench quoted SV Raju as saying: "The [Rouse Avenue trial court] order was passed yesterday [Thursday] at 8. The order was not uploaded. We were not given a clear opportunity to oppose bail," he said. "... I am demanding that the order be stayed and the matter be heard as soon as possible," he added.

A vacation bench of Justices Sudhir Kumar Jain and Ravinder Dudeja is hearing the ED's plea.

Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who is representing CM Kejriwal in the case, opposed the ED's plea to halt the bail and argued that multiple Supreme Court judgments say that cancellation of bail is "radically different from grant of bail".

However, the court seemed unmoved by Singhvi's argument and put on hold the lower court's bail order. TH High Court will hear the ED's urgent plea on Friday.

On Thursday evening, a trial court Bench of vacation Judge Niyay Bindu granted Kejriwal bail on a bond of Rs 1 lakh. Then the ED had sought a stay on Kejriwal's release for 48 hours, a plea promptly declined by the court.

What Is The ED's Case Against Kejriwal?

The ED arrested Arvind Kejriwal in March, accusing him of being involved in framing the now-scrapped Delhi liquor policy, which allegedly had loopholes. The central agency alleged that the loopholes were deliberately created to benefit liquor vendors, who would pay bribes to the leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party.

The ED has alleged that Kejriwal, as the convenor of the AAP, was involved in the money-laundering operation arising as a result of the alleged faulty excise policy. It also alleged that the illegal gains from liquor vendors were used to fund the AAP's Goa election campaign.

The AAP and Kejriwal have denied the allegations and alleged a plot by the BJP against the Delhi CM for political gains. Former Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia is in jail in the same case.