Temporary relief for Arvind Kejriwal in excise policy case; Supreme Court grants interim bail to Delhi CM

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has granted interim bail to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the excise policy case. A bench headed by Justice Sanjiv Khanna referred to his petition challenging his arrest by the ED to a larger bench.

While granting interim bail to Kejriwal, the apex court observed that the Delhi Chief Minister has suffered incarceration of 90 days and it's conscious that he is an elected leader. Kejriwal had pointed out that his arrest was illegal and would not stand in court.

The court also said that it is up to Kejriwal to decide whether he should continue as the Chief Minister of Delhi. The interim bail is a temporary relief as far as Kejriwal and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) are concerned. However, the ED had filed a supplementary charge sheet in the trial court in connection with the case the other day. The hearing in this will begin on July 15. Arvind Kejriwal is currently in judicial custody in the case registered by the CBI. Hence, it is not clear whether he will be able to come out.

Arvind Kejriwal was arrested by ED on March 21 at 9 pm. The arrest was made after two hours of questioning. The ED team reached Kejriwal's house with a warrant after the High Court rejected the plea to stay the arrest in the Delhi liquor policy case. The Aam Aadmi Party organized massive protests across the state regarding his arrest. The Supreme Court had granted interim bail to Kejriwal as part of the Lok Sabha election campaign.