Arvind Kejriwal Moves Delhi Court For Bail After SC Rejects 7 Days Extension Plea

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday moved Rouse Avenue Court seeking bail in the Delhi excise policy case after facing rejection from Supreme Court registry.

The top court allowed interim release for Kejriwal for campaigning but said that he must surrender on June 2. ( Image Source :PTI )

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday moved Rouse Avenue Court seeking bail in the Delhi excise policy case after facing rejection from Supreme Court registry. The top court had granted Kejriwal interim bail for Lok Sabha election campaign and had directed him to surrender on June 2 to Tihar Jail authorities.

The matter will be heard at 2 PM by special judge of Rouse Avenue Courts. Kejriwal has sought regular bail from the court.

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court's registry rejected Arvind Kejriwal's plea for 7 day extension of his interim bail to undergo some medical tests. The top court's registry refused to accept application saying since Kejriwal was given liberty to move trial court for regular bail, the plea seeking extention is not maintainable.

The Supreme Court's vacation bench on Tuesday had refused to urgently list Arvind Kejriwal petition seeking seven more days of interim bail and asked his counsel to placematter before the CJI DY Chandrachud. Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi appearing for the Delhi CM mentioned the plea for urgent hearing before the apex court's vacation bench headed by Justices JK Maheshwari and KV Viswanathan.

The bench, however, was not inclined to accept the mention of the application and said that the matter is already heard and the judgment is reserved by another bench of the top court.

The bench asked Singhvi to mention the petition before the Chief Justice Of India DY Chandrachud for an appropriate order.

On Monday, the Aam Aadmi Party said that Kejriwal has filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking an extension of his interim bail by 7 days to undergo medical tests. The AAP chief has sought time to undergo PET-CT scan and other medical tests. PET-CT scan is a test that is generally used to diagnose cancer and heart related diseases.

The Supreme Court on May 10 granted interim bail to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the Delhi Liquor Policy case to campaign for Lok Sabha elections 2024.

The top court allowed interim release for Kejriwal for campaigning but said that he must surrender on June 2. The seventh and last phase of the Lok Sabha election will take place on June 1.

A bench of Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Dipankar Datta noted that 21 days here or there should not make a difference to the investigation and he can surrender on June 2 after finishing election campaign. 

The top court has also concluded hearing Kejriwal's plea against ED arrest but reserved verdict.

The apex court while granting him bail barred him from the chief minister's office and made it clear that he cannot perform any official duty. Following this, Arvind Kejriwal told the Supreme Court that he is willing to furnish an undertaking stating that he will not sign any official files if released on interim bail.