Excise policy 'scam': Kejriwal moves SC against Delhi HC's interim stay on bail

On Friday, the Delhi High Court had put an interim stay on the bail granted to Kejriwal by a trial court in a money-laundering case linked to the now-scrapped excise policy of his government.

New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has approached the Supreme Court challenging the Delhi High Court's order of June 21 which stayed his bail by the district court in the liquor scam case.

A vacation bench of Justice Sudhir Kumar Jain had on Friday stayed the trial court's order of granting Kejriwal the bail and reserved the judgement on the ED's appeal.

The HC had said that it would pass the order on ED's stay appeal in 2-3 days.

Having questioned the validity of the HC's order, Kejriwal's counsel are likely to mention the matter on Monday, June 24 for urgent listing and hearing in the case before the top court.

On June 20, in a relief to Kejriwal, Rouse Avenue Court's Vacation Judge Niyay Bindu passed the order granting him bail in the Delhi liquor scam case.

However, on June 21, the ED rushed to the High Court as the district court's judge had rejected a request for stay for 48 hours to file an appeal.

Additional Solicitor General S V Raju, appearing for the ED, had argued that the trial court's bail order was 'perverse' as it was contrary to the mandate of Section 45 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

"The trial court order shall be immediately stayed. We are not given an opportunity to represent our case in the trial court. When I try to submit, the trial court said I have to deliver judgment. Be brief," he had said.

Kejriwal's counsel senior advocate Vikram Chaudhari objected to the listing of the matter during the vacations because the trial judge had granted bail through a reseasoned order. 

"What is the anxiety to get it listed in the vacations? There is no question of a stay," he said.

Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singvhi also for Kejriwal said that the ED's approach was "deplorable".

"The accused (Kejriwal) cannot be kept indefinitely in jail merely for the investigating agency to find evidence. It is very unfortunate that the ASG is maligning the judge merely because an adverse order was passed," he had said.

Kejriwal was earlier granted interim bail by the Supreme Court on May 10 for campaign during the Lok Sabha polls. He had surrendered on June 2 as per the apex court's order. The apex court however had then said he can approach the trial court for bail.

He was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate following a raid at his residence on March 21.