The Supreme Court granted bail to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday. Kejriwal had been arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on charges of corruption in an excise policy case.
The SC granted bail to the Aam Aadmi Leader as long as he is subject to 5 conditions. The first condition is to submit bonds of Rs 10 lakh and two sureties of like amount. The second is that Kejriwal cannot go to his office, or to the Delhi Secretariat. The third condition is that he cannot sign any files without the consent of the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi V K Saxena. Fourthly he is also not allowed to make any public comments on the case and the fifth and final condition is that he has to be present on the dates of the hearings, barring exceptions.
Justice Ujjal Bhuyan and Justice Surya Kant delivered the verdict, claiming, prolonged incarceration amounts to unjust deprivation of liberty. On the matter of bail, the judges noted that “completion of trial (is) unlikely in (the) immediate future”. The court then ruled as it had for others in this case, including ex-Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and Telangana politician K Kavitha. Both of whom were released on similar grounds.
Justice Bhuyan added that it would be a travesty of justice to keep Kejriwal incarcerated when he in on bail in the ED case. He also said that bail is the rule and jail is the exception, and the process of arrest should not become harassment.
Kejriwal had filed two separate petitions challenging the denial of bail and against his arrest by the CBI in the corruption case filed by the central agency. On July 12, the apex court had also granted interim bail to Kejriwal in the money laundering case.
Meanwhile Sunita Kejriwal the wife of the Aam Aadmi Party Leader Arvind Kejriwal congratulated the AAP family on her husbands release, while also wishing for relief for other arrested AAP leaders. In Arvind Kejriwal’s absence, Sunita Kejriwal had been handling the affairs of the party and had even taken part in campaigning for the same.
The BJP on the other hand went on the offensive using terms like “kattar beimaan”, “jail wala CM” and “bail wala” CM for the AAP chief. BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia, a lawyer, hit out at the Delhi CM. “Kejriwal never got relief from any court and no charges have been quashed. He has not been discharged. There is no question of acquittal because the trial will continue. The AAP has to answer why Arvind Kejriwal is not resigning.”
The Delhi unit of the BJP too, demanded that the CM’s seat should be vacated. Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva said, “We urge that if he has any morality left, he should resign immediately. Kejriwal and the AAP have no moral character. They are far away from the true sense of ‘Satyameva Jayate’.”
It remains to be seen what will be the effect of these strong attacks on the Delhi Chief Minister by the BJP, as well the long term effect of the stringent conditions set by the SC on the Aam Aadmi Party Chief and how it will impact his political career.
