Delhi High Court puts Kejariwal's bail on hold

In a setback for Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi High Court paused his release order in a corruption case related to the Delhi Liquor Policy until Enforcement Directorate's petition is heard. The ED on Friday morning challenged Kejriwal's bail in the case, just hours before his release from Tihar jail.A vacation bench of Justices Sudhir Kumar Jain and Ravinder Dudeja effectively paused the trial court proceedings, saying, "Stay till the High Court takes up the matter. No proceedings to commence before the trial court (Rouse Avenue) till the Delhi High Court hears the case." As a result, Kejriwal will remain in jail until the High Court conducts a hearing on the matter.
Additional Solicitor General (ASG) SV Raju, representing the ED, informed the Delhi High Court that the agency was not given a fair opportunity to present its case. "The order has not yet been uploaded. Conditions not known. We have not got a fair opportunity to oppose," Raju said.He argued that he was not given sufficient time to argue the case or to file written submissions, and expressed his frustration with the process by stating, "My arguments were curtailed before the vacation judge. We haven't been given the option of a rejoinder also. This is not fair at all." Citing Section 45 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), Raju urged the court to stay the bail order and allow the matter to be heard at length.
A Delhi court on Thursday while granting bail to chief minister Arvind Kejriwal in the money laundering case pertaining to the Delhi excise policy case observed that Enforcement Directorate has failed to give any direct evidence against Kejriwal in respect of the proceeds of crime. Vacation judge Niyay Bindu observed that ED was only harping on the contents of the chargesheet including former AAP communications incharge Vijay Nair’s stay at the house of minister Kailash Gehlot, co accused Chanpreet Singh sponsoring Kejriwal’s stay at 7 star hotel in Goa and attachment of Rs 1 crore from the residence of another co accused. The court said that the ED was silent on certain issues raised by Kejriwal including the CBI not naming him in the case till now or in the ECIR FIR registered by the ED.
Kejriwal was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on March 21 in dramatic scenes just ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. In May, he was granted interim bail by the Supreme Court in view of general elections. He surrendered on June 2.