Supreme Court Considers Interim Bail for Arvind Kejriwal Amid Election Season
Delhi Chief Minister's Case Raises Questions of Timing and Due Process
In light of the ongoing elections, the Supreme Court on Tuesday indicated that it may grant temporary release to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the alleged ₹100-crore excise policy case, given that he is "not a habitual offender." However, the court also ordered that he be prohibited from signing official documents.
During an inconclusive hearing that could resume on Thursday or the following week, a bench consisting of Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Dipankar Datta made this indication.
"He is Delhi's elected chief minister. The elections will soon take place. These are unique circumstances. He does not have a history of criminal activity or involvement in numerous other cases. There is one election every five years. It is not the same as the six-monthly harvest season. In response to vigorous objections from solicitor general Tushar Mehta, who was standing on behalf of the Enforcement Directorate (ED), and assistant solicitor general S.V. Raju, the bench's top judge declared, "We don't appreciate this."
Mehta contended that Kejriwal was only taken into custody after he had eluded nine summonses, and that granted him bail based only on the fact that he is a politician or an election would send the incorrect message to the public. According to him, a number of CEOs of organizations are incarcerated for violations of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. Mehta begged the court, "Please do not earmark political leaders as a separate class."
According to Justice Datta, an arrest also robs a person of their personal liberty rights, which are protected by Article 21 of the Constitution. The court must determine whether or not due process was followed when a person's rights are being taken away from them.
The timing of the arrest was also questioned by the court. The panel declared, "It is not good for an agency to say that it took two years to unearth a controversy."
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