Arvind Kejriwal
Credit: Reuters Photo
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday said its order granting interim bail to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is very clear that he has to surrender on June 2, as the Enforcement Directorate objected to his public statement saying if people voted for the broom symbol, he would not have to go back to jail.
The top court clarified it had not made an exception to Kejriwal and felt he was justified to be released on interim bail.
"Our order is very clear, we have fixed a timeline that on so and so date he is on bail and on the date he has to surrender (on June 2, Kejriwal will have to surrender). That is the order of the apex court. If rule of law is to governed, it will be governed by that," a bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta said.
The court was responding to an assertion by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta who objected to the statement made by Kejriwal after his release from jail.
Mehta said, "It (the statement) is a slap on the face of the institution. I take exception to it."
Quoting Kejriwal, Mehta said, the AAP convenor in his public speech said, "they (people) say that I would have to go back to jail in 20 days. If you vote for broom (AAP’s symbol) our party symbol, then I would have not to go to jail."
"How can that happen if you vote for me then I don't have to go back to jail on June 2," Mehta asked.
"That is his assumption. Our order is clear," the bench clarified.
Senior advocate A M Singhvi, appearing for Kejriwal, sought to raise a statement made by Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Kejriwal's interim bail.
“I did not think he would say this and I will file an affidavit and he was alleging malafide against the government…I will file an affidavit about the top minister of this government," Singhvi said.
On this, the bench said, "As far as critical analysis or even criticism of the judgment is concerned, you may have different viewpoints; we have no difficulty with that. Our order is very clear."
"We specifically said that we are not making an exception to anybody. What we felt was justified, we passed that order,” the bench said.
The court was hearing arguments on behalf of the Enforcement Directorate questioning maintainability of the petition filed by Kejriwal challenging his March 21 arrest and remand in the 2022 liquor policy scam case.
On May 10, the Supreme Court had granted interim bail to Kejriwal, arrested by the ED on March 21 in the liquor policy scam case, for campaign till June 1.