Excise case policy: Delhi court reserves order for June 5 on Arvind Kejriwal's interim bail plea

NEW DELHI: Rouse Avenue Court on Saturday reserved its order for June 5 in the application moved by Delhi chief minster and AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal seeking interim bail in a money laundering case linked to the alleged excise policy scam.
Special Judge Kaveri Baweja reserved the order, observing that the application was for grant of interim bail on medical grounds and not for the extension of the interim bail granted by the Supreme Court.
Kejriwal's interim relief granted by the apex court ends on June 1 and he has to surrender by Sunday.
The ED claimed that Kejriwal was actively campaigning in different states and has not undergone any medical tests, suggesting that his plea is an attempt to deceive the court and delay the tests, as stated by ASG SV Raju.
N Hariharan, Senior Advocate representing Kejriwal, argued that the interim bail was sought to allow him to campaign for his national party, emphasising that if he had not campaigned and then fallen ill, it would have been criticised.
Hariharan clarified that the plea is specifically an application for medical bail, not an extension of the Supreme Court order.
The ED raised issues regarding the maintainability of the interim bail plea, arguing that the tests Kejriwal mentioned require seven days and suggesting that his claim of losing 7 kg is false, noting a gain of 1 kg in weight instead.
The ED stated that the Supreme Court granted Kejriwal liberty to file for regular bail but did not grant the liberty to seek an extension of interim bail, accusing him of suppressing facts and making false statements regarding his health.
They argued that the interim bail plea should be dismissed due to suppression of facts and contended that the court cannot modify the Supreme Court's order, emphasising that Kejriwal is on interim bail granted by the Supreme Court, and his current request is essentially an extension of that order.