Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal to stay in jail as HC halts bail till next week
Delhi HC stays trial court's bail order for CM Kejriwal in excise policy case, extends stay until verdict in 2-3 days.
The Delhi high court on Friday halted the release of Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal from jail by staying a trial court’s order granting him bail in the excise policy case, dealing a setback to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and changing the course of the ongoing legal dispute yet again.
In a day of dramatic developments, the high court on Friday morning stayed the trial court’s bail order less than 24 hours after it was passed, before hearing the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) plea. The high court’s order later in the day, issued by a vacation bench of justice Sudhir Kumar Jain, reserved the decision on the agency’s petition and extended its stay until the pronouncement of its verdict in two or three days.
“I am reserving the order for two to three days. I have to go through the entire record. Until the pronouncement of the order on the stay application, the operation of the impugned trial court order shall be stayed. I will pronounce it by Tuesday,” justice Jain stated, also issuing notice on ED’s plea to set aside the trial court’s order.
This legal twist came as a setback to the AAP, which had been buoyed by the previous day’s favourable order and was hopeful of the imminent release of its leader, who has been in custody since March 21 following his arrest by ED, apart from a 21-day interim bail in May for Lok Sabha election campaigning.
It was also a key moment for the AAP, which will vie for a third consecutive term in Delhi in the assembly polls scheduled in eight months. If released, Kejriwal – the face of the party and its tallest leader – will boost the party’s campaign.
AAP leaders said that the lower court order, which granted bail to Kejriwal, had exposed both the BJP and ED. “After ED presented all evidence, witnesses and made arguments, the court issued an order for regular bail, the BJP people should have been ashamed. But they still sent ED to high court without any order,” said party leader Sanjay Singh in a press conference on Friday.
People in Kejriwal’s legal team indicated that they may approach the Supreme Court on Saturday to challenge the high court’s interim stay on his release, demanding a resolution to this rapidly evolving legal saga.
The case against the CM stems from allegations of irregularities in Delhi’s now-scrapped excise policy of 2021-22, which the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) began probing following a recommendation by Delhi’s lieutenant governor in July 2022. Kejriwal was the third AAP leader arrested in this connection. Former deputy CM Manish Sisodia has been in jail since February 2023, and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh was granted bail by the top court in April this year after six months of custody.
The release order by the vacation trial court judge Niyay Bindu on Thursday evening had come days after the general elections threw up surprisingly positive results for the Opposition but found the AAP winning no seat in Delhi and only three in Punjab.
ED swiftly moved the high court on Friday morning. The agency argued that the trial court’s order was passed without giving the agency adequate opportunity to oppose the bail application and despite judicial acknowledgment of the offence of money laundering. ED, arguing through additional solicitor general (ASG) SV Raju, also criticised the trial court for refusing to stay the bail order temporarily to allow for an appeal to a higher court.
On Thursday, judge Niyay Bindu had ordered Kejriwal’s release, citing a lack of direct evidence implicating him in the money laundering case and suggesting a potential bias in ED’s investigation. The detailed order released on Friday highlighted that only ₹40 crore of the alleged ₹100 crore was traced, with no clear timeline for the rest. The trial judge also noted ED’s failure to explain how the proceeds of the crime were used in the 2022 Goa assembly elections by the AAP, emphasising that a significant portion of the alleged amount remained untraced nearly two years later.
Assailing the trial court verdict, ASG Raju argued that the impugned order was “perverse” and “lopsided” as it was passed without a thorough review of the documentary evidence. He claimed that the agency traced ₹45 crore and provided an “end-to-end money trail” linking Kejriwal to the alleged ₹100 crore bribe demand.
The law officer emphasised that the April 9 Delhi high court order affirming the legality of Kejriwal’s arrest by ED stood as valid since it had not been stayed by the Supreme Court. He further stressed that Kejriwal was both individually and vicariously liable for money laundering under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
In response, Kejriwal’s legal team, led by senior advocates Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Vikram Chaudhari, defended the trial court’s bail order as a well-considered discretionary judgment. They criticised ED’s expectation for the trial court to extensively document its contentions and stressed that the order had addressed all arguments comprehensively. They further pointed out that Kejriwal’s surrender after his interim bail ended demonstrated his bona fide conduct and that his release would not pose any danger or prejudice.
The legal team underscored that interim stays on bail orders are typically reserved for cases involving terrorists or those likely to flee, highlighting that Kejriwal did not fit these criteria.
They also argued that the high court’s April 9 order could not have been considered as a final order as the Supreme Court, while reserving verdict in Kejriwal’s petition challenging his arrest and remand, had expressly granted their client the liberty to move trial court for bail.
The high court, however, said that it would need two or three days to go through the records of the case before taking a call on ED’s interim plea to suspend Kejriwal’s bail till the time a final decision is taken on the agency’s petition for the cancellation of his bail. Till a decision on ED’s interim bail plea, justice Jain said, the trial court order of releasing the CM on bail will not be given effect to.
The decision sparked a political controversy.
ED not acting without bias, said Delhi judge who granted bail to Arvind Kejriwal
AAP’s Sanjay Singh said that ED went to the high court to stop Kejriwal’s bail even before the trial court order was uploaded on the court’s website. “I believe that the high court will definitely take cognizance of what has been written in the trial court’s order... There is a strong basis for his bail and even the trial court judge has in her order quoted the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court,” said Singh.
Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva said AAP leaders are “masters of spreading lies”. “The country’s judiciary is independent and works in an unbiased manner based on facts. It would be better if AAP leaders understand the judicial systems before hastily commenting on judicial decisions,” said Sachdeva.
On June 5, Kejriwal’s plea for interim bail on medical grounds was dismissed by another trial court, citing his active involvement in election campaigning as evidence that he does not suffer from any serious or life-threatening ailments. To address Kejriwal’s health concerns, the court, however, ordered the revival of the AIIMS medical board constituted earlier to examine him and conduct necessary medical tests for prescribing any required treatment.
Last month, ED filed a supplementary charge sheet in the money laundering case, naming Kejriwal and the AAP as accused. The court has reserved its order on cognisance of this charge sheet.
