Arvind Kejriwal moves Delhi court seeking regular bail; court seeks response from ED on June 1

This comes after the Supreme Court Registry declined to list a plea filed by the Aam Aadmi Party national supremo for a seven-day extension of his interim bail ending on June 1, yesterday.

New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has moved a Delhi Court for the regular bail in the liquor policy scam case, as his interim bail granted by the Supreme Court for election campaign would end on June 1.

Special judge Kaveri Baweja issued notice to the Enforcement Directorate seeking its response on June 1 on the regular as well as interim bail.

The court fixed the matter for hearing on Saturday.

Kejriwal moved the Rouse Avenue Court, after his plea for extension of seven day interim bail was declined for hearing by the apex court registry.

He had sought interim bail on health grounds, in the money laundering case related to the alleged liquor policy scam.

Appearing for the ED, Additional Solicitor General S V Raju sought time to file response to the pleas, saying that there are several suppressions of facts which the central probe agency wanted to bring on record.

He, however, sought dismissal of the application by Kejriwal as he is not in custody. He has been granted interim bail by the Supreme Court. He was in Punjab campaigning.

"His health did not hinder him from campaigning. He moves the bail on last date so that we get very little time. His conduct doesn't entitle him for any orders," Raju contended.

The Supreme Court registry refused to accept the application of Kejriwal for listing it for an hearing, it had said since the judgement has already been reserved on challenge to arrest, and his plea for extension of interim bail has no relation to his main petition.

"As the SC allowed him (Kejriwal) to move trial court for regular bail, this application is not maintainable," the SC registry said.

Kejriwal was granted interim bail on May 10, by a bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta, for a period of three weeks till June 01 and was asked to surrender to Tihar jail on June 2.

The same bench of judges had on May 17 reserved the verdict on Kejriwal’s plea challenging the validity of his arrest by ED in a PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) case in the liquor case.

Kejriwal sought a direction for an extension of his interim bail by another seven days, citing that he has to undergo PET-CT scan and other tests.

Kejriwal, in his plea, claimed that since his arrest he had lost 7 kgs. His Ketone level had gone very high. This could be a symptom of a serious disease. "The doctors of Max hospital is treating him at present," he said in his plea.

The Enforcement Directorate had called Kejriwal as the kingpin and the main conspirator of the scam. It has also filed a charge sheet earlier this month naming Kejriwal and Aam Aadmi Party as accused in the case.