Will Arvind Kejriwal get bail today? Delhi HC to pronounce order on CM's plea

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday will pronounce its verdict on the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) plea seeking a stay on the trial court's order that granted bail to chief minister Arvind Kejriwal in connection with the alleged excise policy scam. The Delhi High Court will pronounce its order later in the day.

On Thursday, Delhi's Rouse Avenue Court granted bail to Kejriwal, arrested by the ED in March in a money laundering case linked to the alleged excise policy scam. Following this, the ED on Friday moved the High Court and sought a stay on the trial court's order. 

The High Court reserved its order on the ED's plea and imposed an interim stay on Kejriwal's release from jail. Later, Kejriwal moved the Supreme Court but was unable to get any relief as the top court on Monday refused to pass any immediate order to overturn the Delhi High Court's decision to stay Kejriwal's bail. 

While observing that the High Court's approach was a "bit unusual", the top court asked the Chief Minister to wait for the High Court's order. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court will take up Kejriwal's plea on June 26, a day after the High Court's order. 

Top points to know

1. Senior advocates Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Vikram Chaudhury, appearing for Kejriwal, said the High Court did not wait for the trial court's bail order before putting a hold on it.
2. Replying to this, Justice Manoj Misra said, "If the High Court has committed a mistake, should we repeat it?"
3. Singhvi said that the stay on Kejriwal's bail order was unusual and that the latter was not a flight risk.
4. The bench then advised both the parties to wait patiently for the High Court's order. To this, Singhvi raised concerns around loss of time for obtaining bail.
5. Moreover, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Saturday claimed that Kejriwal's health has been deteriorating rapidly since his arrest. 
6. The party claimed that Delhi CM lost 8 kg since his arrest by the ED on March 21. According to AAP, Kejriwal's weight dropped from 70 kg to 62 kg by June 22. 
7. AAP further said due to persistent weight loss, the AIIMS medical board to advise including parathas and puri in Kejriwal's diet to help tackle the issue. 
8. The trial court granted bail to Kejriwal on June 20, ordering his release on a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh. 
9. The court granted bail to the Delhi chief minister on the condition that he will not hamper the investigation or influence witnesses. 
10. Arvind Kejriwal was arrested in March this year in a money laundering case linked to the alleged excise policy scam.
11. The top court later granted interim bail to Kejriwal for 21 days to campaign for the Lok Sabha polls. Kejriwal asked for his interim bail to be extended but his request was turned down.