The Supreme Court dismissed the Enforcement Directorate's request for action against Arvind Kejriwal, ruling that the Delhi Chief Minister's remark "... if you vote for AAP (when Delhi's seven Lok Sabha seats are voted on next week), I won't have to go back to jail" did not violate his bail conditions.
The court informed the federal agency that Mr Kejriwal's comment was his personal view and stated, "It is his assumption... we cannot say anything." We have clarified that the Chief Minister must return to jail on June 2. This court has determined, and the law will guide us."
“The enquiry of the court should stop at the date of the arrest. The ED cannot rely on material gathered post the arrest” Judge Slams ED Tactics in Kejriwal Case: Next Hearing Set for May 17. #SupremeCourtofIndia #EnforcementDirectorate #ArvindKejriwal pic.twitter.com/G5ITxaqHyk— VYGR News (@Vygrofficial) May 16, 2024
The court, which heard arguments from the ED regarding the prospective precedent of detained political leaders gaining bail to campaign during elections, emphasized that it had made no "exceptions".
"No exceptions have been made by us. We will not delve into this matter, although we do welcome criticism of (our) decision. Our directive is unambiguous; we've established the times and provided justifications for issuing temporary bail."
The application to remove Mr. Kejriwal's bail and put him in jail was denied by the court. Previously, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta contended that Mr. Kejriwal had stated, "... if you vote for AAP, I won't have to go back to jail," during his campaign.
"This is an obvious violation of the court-imposed requirements. It represents a slight to the judiciary." prominent counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi responded on behalf of Mr. Kejriwal by pointing out that several prominent union ministers—whom he did not name—had made disparaging remarks about his client.
During his party's campaign on Monday, Mr. Kejriwal expressed his dread of going to jail once more if the National Democratic Alliance, led by the BJP, wins the 2024 Lok Sabha election. In addition, he stated that attempts were made to "break and humiliate" him following his transfer to the Tihar Jail in Delhi.
"I have to go back to jail on June 2." On June 4, I'll be watching the election results from behind bars. I will return on June 5 if you succeed in electing the INDIA bloc, the opposition alliance led by the Congress, of which the AAP is a part. "Let us see when we meet if there is a lack of effort," he had stated.
Stay tuned for more updates tomorrow...
Inputs by Agencies
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