A Delhi court on Saturday reserved for June 5 its order on an interim bail plea filed by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who is accused in a money laundering case registered against him by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the Delhi excise policy case.
With no immediate respite given by the court to the Delhi CM, who had sought interim bail on medical grounds, he has to return to jail on June 2, on the expiry of the first interim bail granted to him by the Supreme Court to campaign for the Lok Sabha election earlier this month.
During the bail argument on Saturday, the ED maintained that when Mr. Kejriwal could campaign the length and breadth of the country for the elections, he couldn’t fall sick when it was time to return to jail.
“He has been campaigning by travelling non-stop and widely across multiple States for the past 22 days, which would reflect that he is in a fit condition and is neither ‘sick nor infirm’ warranting interim bail on medical grounds,” Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who appeared for the ED, said.
He added that that Mr. Kejriwal had sought interim bail on the day the election campaign was ending was a clear abuse of the judicial process, and a breach of the principles governing the grant of interim bail.
In his bail application, the Delhi CM had claimed that he had lost six-seven kilogrammes of weight during his stay in jail, from March 21 till May 10, which he could not regain even after his release. He said he had suspected that weight loss, coupled with high ketone levels, could be indicative of kidney damage, cardiac ailments, and even cancer.
Refuting Mr. Kejriwal’s claims, Additional Solicitor General S.V. Raju said that Mr. Kejriwal weight 64 kg when he entered Tihar Jail. “Today, he says his weight was 65 kg. He has gained 1 kg. All these statements are only for sympathy,” Mr. Raju said.
The ED’s counsel also said that if the trial court was going to consider the plea for interim bail on merits, the rigours of Section 45 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) would apply. He also said that the accused had failed to disclose that he had been denied any extension of interim bail by the Supreme Court.
Senior Advocate N. Hariharan, who appeared for Mr. Kejriwal, claimed that his client was 69 kg when he was taken into custody. “Treatment is my right under Article 21.....After campaigning I found that my sugar levels are fluctuating, which can be very dangerous....I am not seeking regular bail but interim bail because of my condition,” Mr. Hariharan said, adding that bail was necessary to conduct some medical tests.
He asked who would take responsibility if something were to happen to his client if the latter returned to jail without treatment, and requested the court that if it felt seven days was too much, it could grant five days of interim bail.
Mr. Hariharan had earlier requested the court to decide the matter on June 1 itself, otherwise the plea would become infructuous.
Special judge (Prevention of Corruption Act), Kaveri Baweja, of the Rouse Avenue Court refused to entertain the request and said that the plea had said the accused was not asking for an extension of interim bail. The judge said the order would be pronounced only on June 5.
Mr. Kejriwal has filed two separate bail applications in the court — the first sought interim bail on medical grounds, and second is regular bail in the case.
Hearing for the regular bail plea is scheduled for June 7.
