New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday granted Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal interim bail till June 1 asking him to surrender on June 2.
Earlier, the SC bench had reserved its order on interim bail to Mr Kejriwal on May 7. Delhi CM, who is currently lodged in Delhi's Tihar jail was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on March 21 in connection with the now-scrapped excise policy scam case.
The counsel appearing for the ED argued against giving Kejriwal bail as they cited that it would set a wrong precedent. Leading up to the pivotal Supreme Court hearing on the appeal filed by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal contesting his arrest, the ED submitted an affidavit on Thursday vehemently opposing the granting of interim bail to him for his participation in campaigning for the Lok Sabha polls.
The ED's counsel pointed out that allowing bail for campaigning purposes could open the floodgates for various professionals, such as shop owners, farmers, masons, or company directors, to seek similar relief based on their respective vocations. Drawing analogies, they suggested that if Kejriwal could cite campaigning, a farmer might cite the harvest season, or a company director might cite board meetings.
The affidavit submitted by ED Deputy Director Bhanu Priya Meena, under the guidance of Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, further argued that the right to campaign holds no special legal or constitutional status. Additionally, it noted that no political leader, to their knowledge, had been granted interim bail specifically for campaign activities. It's noteworthy that Kejriwal isn't a contesting candidate in this case.