Delhi HC stays bail granted to Arvind Kejriwal, claims trial court “didn’t apply its mind”

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will continue to stay at Tihar jail after the High Court on Tuesday upheld the stay on the trial court order granting bail to Kejriwal in connection with the now scrapped excise policy. The Delhi High Court has allowed the plea of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) challenging the bail granted to the chief minister on June 20. ED had approached the High Court, hours before Kejriwal was expected to leave the trial court, alleging they were not allowed a fair and adequate hearing by the lower court.

"This court has decided that the vacation judge did not appropriately appreciate the material on record and the averments of ED. The application is allowed and the operation of the impugned order is stayed,” a vacation bench of Justice Sudhir Kumar Jain said

The High Court also pulled up the trial court for not considering the “voluminous material” presented by the ED, calling it unjustified. “Observation by the trial court that voluminous material cannot be considered is totally unjustified and it shows that the trial court has not applied its mind to the material,” the court said. The High Court also observed that the trial court did not “apply its mind” while granting bail in a case of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.


Arvind Kejriwal was arrested by ED on March 21 on charges of alleged money laundering in connection with the now scrapped excise policy, accusing him of bringing a policy that allowed kickbacks that helped financial gains to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). After ED had challenged the trial court bail and the subsequent interim stay by the High Court, the AAP convener had moved to the Supreme Court. But the Supreme Court however had refused immediate relief to the Delhi Chief Minister on Monday, noting it would be improper for it to intervene when the High Court had reserved its judgement. The Supreme Court, though, had admitted the High Court's action in reserving the order was “unusual”. The Supreme Court had previously granted him interim bail till June 1, allowing him to campaign for the Lok Sabha Elections. Kejriwal, as was asked by the SC, had surrendered before the jail authorities on June 2.