The Delhi High Court has scheduled a hearing on August 7 regarding the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) plea challenging the bail granted to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in a money laundering case linked to an alleged excise scam. This decision follows the high court’s earlier stay on the trial court’s order granting bail to Kejriwal, issued on June 20.
Justice Neena Bansal Krishna, set to preside over the hearing, was informed by Kejriwal’s counsel that they received the ED’s rejoinder late Sunday night, prompting a request for additional time to file a response. They also noted that the Supreme Court had granted interim bail to Kejriwal on Friday, which they intended to submit as evidence.
Kejriwal had been granted bail by a trial court on June 20 on a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh. The ED promptly moved to challenge this decision the next day, arguing that the trial court’s order was flawed and based on irrelevant facts.
Responding, Kejriwal has characterized the ED’s actions as part of a “witch-hunt”, emphasizing that canceling his bail would result in a “grave miscarriage of justice”. He defended the trial court’s decision, asserting that bail cannot be overturned based on mere perceptions from the prosecution.
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The high court had previously imposed an interim stay on the trial court’s bail order on June 21 and had requested Kejriwal to respond to the ED’s petition. On June 25, it issued a detailed order prolonging the stay on Kejriwal’s bail.
The case stems from allegations surrounding the scrapping of an excise policy in 2022, which led to investigations by the CBI and ED into potential irregularities and corruption related to its formulation and execution. Kejriwal was arrested by the ED on March 21 and subsequently by the CBI on June 26 in connection with these cases.
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