SC tells Arvind Kejriwal: 'If granted interim bail, we don't want you to perform official duties' —10 key points

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday said that it did not want Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to perform official duties if he was granted interim bail in connection with the excise policy-linked money laundering case.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) contended that a narrative is being built successfully that Kejriwal has not done anything but was arrested just before the Lok Sabha elections 2024.

The apex court, however, questioned the ED over the ‘delay’ in its probe, and asked the agency to produce case files before the arrest of the AAP leader.

A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta is hearing arguments on Kejriwal’s plea challenging his arrest by the ED in the case.

Kejriwal was arrested on March 21. Currently, he is lodged in Tihar Jail and is under judicial custody.

Key developments 

1) The ED alleged that Arvind Kejriwal had stayed in a seven-star hotel during the 2022 Goa assembly polls and part of the bills were allegedly paid by the Delhi government’s general administration department.

2) The Central probe agency said that Arvind Kejriwal would not have been arrested had he cooperated in the investigation. Kejriwal evaded nine summonses.

3) The apex court has said that it is an extraordinary situation as Arvind Kejriwal is the CM, and needs to consider his interim bail.

4) However, the ED opposed the SC’s view, saying that the court may not create a separate class for politicians.

5) The Supreme Court told Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal that it did not want him to perform official duties if he was granted interim bail. If he performs official duties, then it will be a conflict of interest and the court doesn’t want that.

6) Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal tells the SC that he will not deal with any excise policy scam-related files if granted interim bail.

7) The ED said that it can show that Kejriwal demanded ₹100 crore. “At the nascent stage, Kejriwal was not the focus and the investigating agency was not looking at that. The role became clearer only when the investigation progressed,” reported Bar and Bench, quoting Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, appearing for the ED.

8) Following Raju’s comment, the SC said the only issue that arises is that why the investigation took so long and why the questions were not asked.

9) The ED also claimed that once the witness said that he met Kejriwal for a land deal, then they came to know that it was all bogus and it was for ₹100 crore.

10) SG Tushar Mehta said that releasing him (Kejriwal) because he is a politician is not a correct precedent. “He chose to be a CM without a portfolio, and it is done to accommodate some people,” Mehta argued.

Kejriwal also told the apex court that he won’t sign files but Delhi LG Vinai Kumar Saxena should not reject decisions just because files are not signed by him.

However, the apex court did not pronounce any order on the interim bail on Tuesday. The matter is likely to be taken up again next week for hearing.

Meanwhile, a Delhi court on Tuesday extended the judicial custody of Kejriwal till May 20.