On Friday, the Supreme Court granted interim bail till June 1st to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal arrested in liquor policy scam case by the Enforcement Directorate.
A division bench of Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Dipankar Dutta given the prolongation of proceedings, has granted the interim relief, with the ongoing 18th Lok Sabha General Elections being an intervening factor.
The Court rejected ED's contention that grant of interim bail/release on this account would be giving premium of placing the politicians in a benefic position compared to ordinary citizens of this country and stated that while examining the question of grant of interim bail/release, the courts always take into consideration the peculiarities associated with the person in question and the surrounding circumstances.
"It is no gain saying that General Elections to Lok Sabha is the most significant and an important event this year, as it should be in a national election year. Between 650-700 million voters out of an electorate of about 970 million will cast their votes to elect the government of this country for the next five years. General Elections supply the vis viva to a democracy. Given the prodigious importance, we reject the argument raised on behalf of the prosecution that grant of interim bail/release on this account would be giving premium of placing the politicians in a benefic position compared to ordinary citizens of this country", the court observed in the order.
The Court accepted that Kejriwal's failure to appear despite nine (9) notices/summons issued by the ED is a negative factor against him. Still, there are several other facets that the court is required to take into consideration, it added.
"The appellant – Arvind Kejriwal is the Chief Minister of Delhi and a leader of one of the national parties. No doubt, serious accusations have been made, but he has not been convicted. He does not have any criminal antecedents. He is not a threat to the society. The investigation in the present case has remained pending since August 2022. Arvind Kejriwal was arrested, as noted above, on 21.03.2024. More importantly, legality and validity of the arrest itself is under challenge before this Court and we are yet to finally pronounce on the same", the court noted.
Again rejecting the Solicitor General of India's argument of not providing preferential treatment to Kejriwal and treating a Chief Minister and a farmer on the same footing, the Court asserted that a libertarian view is justified in the present case considering the facts and circumstances.
"The fact situation cannot be compared with harvesting of crops or plea to look after business affairs. In this background, once the matter is subjudice and the questions relating to legality of arrest are under consideration, a more holistic and libertarian view is justified, in the background that the 18th Lok Sabha General Elections are being held", the court said.
The Chief Minister has been directed to surrender before the authorities upon the end of his interim bail on June 2nd and five conditions have been imposed on his bail. These are as follows:
Read Order @LatestLaws.com:
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