The Supreme Court of India has turned down a plea from Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, seeking a seven-day extension of his interim bail in connection with a money laundering case linked to the Delhi excise policy. Last month, the apex court had granted Kejriwal interim bail to campaign for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, directing him to surrender by June 2.
However, the Supreme Court registry declined to accept Kejriwal’s application for bail extension, citing that since he was given the liberty to approach the trial court for regular bail, his plea was not maintainable, according to reports from newswire PTI.
During the proceedings, the apex court questioned Senior Advocate Abhishek Singhvi, representing the chief minister, about why Kejriwal’s plea was not mentioned when Justice Dipankar Datta, the judge of the main bench, heard the case last week.
Kejriwal’s plea for an extension of his interim bail was based on medical grounds. He sought additional time to undergo various medical tests, including a PET-CT scan, due to sudden and unexplained weight loss coupled with high ketone levels. These symptoms raise concerns about potential kidney issues, serious cardiac ailments, or even cancer.
In his latest submission on May 26, Kejriwal stated his intention to surrender to jail authorities on June 9, instead of the initially scheduled date of June 2. The Supreme Court had granted him 21-day interim bail on May 10 to enable him to campaign for the Lok Sabha Elections 2024, with instructions to surrender on June 2, a day after the last phase of polling.
The charges against Kejriwal stem from corruption and money laundering allegations related to the Delhi excise policy scam. These allegations concern the formulation and execution of the Delhi government’s excise policy for 2021-22, which has since been scrapped.
The Chief Minister was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on March 21 in connection with the alleged scam. Subsequently, he was remanded to judicial custody and lodged in Tihar Jail. The denial of his plea for bail extension prolongs the legal battle for Kejriwal as he contends with the charges leveled against him.
