Delhi: Arvind Kejriwal faced a significant setback as the Supreme Court Registry declined to accept his plea for a 7-day extension of his interim bail, as reported by Live Law. The registry conveyed that Kejriwal could seek bail from the trial court, indicating a legal route for his request. Consequently, Arvind Kejriwal, the Chief Minister of Delhi and leader of AAP, is slated to surrender by June 2 as his interim bail expires on June 1.
The urgency of the situation escalated when the Supreme Court, on Tuesday, dismissed an immediate hearing for Arvind Kejriwal’s plea to prolong his interim bail by seven days on medical grounds within the context of the Delhi excise policy case.
The bench, consisting of Justices JK Maheshwari and KV Viswanathan, referred the decision of listing Kejriwal’s application to the Chief Justice of India. Given that the judgment in the case had been reserved, the bench deemed it appropriate for the Chief Justice to determine the course of action.
The apex court had reserved its verdict on Kejriwal’s plea against his apprehension by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on May 17. Earlier, on May 10, Kejriwal was granted interim bail until June 1 to facilitate his participation in the Lok Sabha election campaign, with a directive to surrender on June 2.
Representing Kejriwal, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi sought an urgent hearing for the application. However, the bench reiterated the matter was already heard and reserved, underscoring their inability to intervene. Singhvi subsequently lodged a fresh application, specifically requesting a seven-day extension due to medical exigencies, stressing its necessity for health reasons rather than as an abuse of legal privilege.
The bench queried why the application wasn’t presented before Justice Dipankar Datta, who presided over a vacation bench the previous week. Singhvi clarified that the medical recommendation was issued shortly before, precluding an earlier submission.
Initially, interim bail had been granted to Kejriwal by Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Dipankar Dutta, who presided over the principal case.
In his plea for a week-long extension, Kejriwal outlined the imperative need for diagnostic evaluations, including a PET-CT scan. The application underscored recent medical findings indicating elevated blood glucose and ketone levels, hinting at potential kidney-related complications and damage.
Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest by the ED on March 21 pertained to a money laundering inquiry concerning alleged irregularities in the now-defunct Delhi excise policy for 2021-22.