SC grants interim bail to Kejriwal till June 1, asks him not to attend office and sign file

DELHI CM WALKS OUT OF JAIL AFTER 50 DAYS, SAYS WE HAVE TO SAVE COUNTRY FROM DICTATORSHIP

- NARESH BISWANI

The Supreme Court on Friday granted interim bail to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for 21 days and asked the national convenor of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to surrender on June 2, a day after the polling for the seven-phased Lok Sabha elections is scheduled to end.

The Delhi Chief Minister walked out of the jail later in the evening after 50 days of remaining in judicial custody in the maximum security Tihar jail in the Capital. Kejriwal thanked Lord Hanuman and sought people’s support in his “fight against dictatorship”.

While granting bail to Kejriwal, the apex court pointed out the Enforcement Directorate’s delay in arresting the AAP chief. A bench, comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta, said that the central probe agency had registered an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) in August 2022, but Kejriwal was arrested in March.

“For about one and half years he was there... The arrest could have been made afterwards or before. 21 days here or there should not make any difference,” Justice Khanna said.

Granting interim bail to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal would not amount to granting of privilege or special status to politicians, the Supreme Court observed.

The Supreme Court barred Kejriwal from visiting his office or the Delhi secretariat and signing official files unless absolutely necessary for obtaining the L-G’s approval.

The fourth phase of polling will be held on May 13 and all seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi will go to polls on May 25.