The Supreme Court has tentatively put off to May 9 the hearing of a plea that seeks interim bail for Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in late March in an excise policy case.
Hearing the case on May 7, the court observed that Kejriwal was "not a habitual offender", even as ED opposed any relief to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader.
The AAP supremo is currently confined in Tihar jail under judicial custody, in connection with a money laundering case linked to the scrapped Delhi excise policy.
Here are SC’s five key observations in the ongoing hearing:
1. SC said the top court doesn't want Arvind Kejriwal to perform official duties of chief minister if he is released on interim bail as it may have cascading effect.
2. SC said Arvind Kejriwal says there cannot be differentiation with a common man, then summons were evaded for 9 times, then comes allegations against him showing his involvement.
3. This is an extraordinary situation. It is not like he is a habitual offender. Elections happen once in five years. It's not like harvesting a crop that will happen every four to six months. We need to consider on priority whether he should be released in the interim," observed SC.
4. "Can a politician get special treatment compared to a common man. There are 5,000 facing prosecution what if all of them say they want to campaign; nine summons over 6 six months, the ED cannot be blamed for choosing time; and they haven’t yet gone into evidence, so can interim bail be granted at this stage," said the apex court.
5. The bench noted: “If you (Kejriwal) are attending to office and giving instructions to people, (it) may not be proper.” “We are on the issue of propriety today, not on legality. We do not want anything to affect the functioning of the government.".
Kejriwal was arrested on March 21, barely days after the Model Code of Conduct for the general election was declared on March 16. He is currently lodged in the Tihar jail on his fifth stretch of remand till May 7.
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