Delhi High Court Stays Arvind Kejriwal 's Bail, Says Trial Court Didn't Properly Appreciate ED Case & Material

Bail Revoked in Excise Policy Scam Case

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday (June 25) stayed the trial court's order granting bail to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the excise policy case. The court said that the Vacation Judge passed the bail order without going through the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) entire material, which reflects "perversity" in the decision.

Lack of Proper Consideration

The High Court took objection to the trial judge's observation that the entire voluminous record was not perused. Such an observation was "totally unwarranted" and showed that the trial court had not applied its mind to the material, the High Court stated.

The High Court also accepted the ED's submission that proper opportunity was not granted to it by the trial judge to present the case. The court found factual force in the arguments advanced by the ED that the Vacation Judge did not pass the bail order after due consideration of the entire material on record.

Failure to Address Key Issues

Furthermore, the Court added that the Vacation Judge failed to discuss the requirement of section 45 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) while passing the bail order. The court also noted that the issue regarding Kejriwal 's role for vicarious liability was not adequately addressed in the Impugned Order.

Interim Bail Granted for Elections

The High Court's vacation bench also noted that the trial court's observation that the interim bail was granted for elections was "totally unwarranted." The bench stated that once the arrest and remand of Kejriwal was declared valid by a coordinate bench, it cannot be said that his personal liberty was curtailed in violation of the law.

ED's Challenge to the Bail Order

Kejriwal was granted bail by the trial court on June 20. On June 21, the ED moved the Delhi High Court challenging the grant of bail to the Chief Minister. In the interim, the central probe agency moved an urgent application seeking a stay on the impugned order.

Justice Sudhir Kumar Jain , the vacation judge, heard the ED's plea on Friday. While reserving judgment in the stay application, the High Court ordered that the impugned order shall remain stayed until the pronouncement of the order.

Kejriwal 's Appeal to the Supreme Court

Kejriwal then moved the Supreme Court challenging the interim stay granted by the High Court. The matter was heard by a vacation bench headed by Justice Manoj Misra , which adjourned the hearing to June 24. However, the Apex Court orally said that the Delhi High Court's approach to reserve the order on the ED's stay application against Arvind Kejriwal 's bail was "a bit unusual."

The Supreme Court also commented that in the usual course, stay orders are passed "on the spot" immediately after the hearing and are not reserved. The hearing was adjourned as the Apex Court said that it does not want to "pre-judge" the issue when the High Court's order is awaited.

Scathing Observations in the Bail Order

The bail order passed by Vacation Judge Niyay Bindu of the Rouse Avenue Court contained scathing observations against the ED. The judge went to the extent of drawing an inference that the ED was acting with bias against Kejriwal . The order further held that the ED had not shown any direct evidence regarding the proceeds of the crime.

Kejriwal was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on March 21. In May, he was granted interim bail by the Supreme Court till June 01 in view of the general elections. He surrendered on June 2.