Supreme Court Grants Interim Bail to Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal Amid Corruption Allegations
The Supreme Court has granted interim bail to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in a case related to the now-scrapped excise policy. Bhagirath Choudhary, Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), stated that action will be taken against all corrupt individuals, regardless of their party affiliation.
Choudhary criticized Kejriwal, alleging a stark transformation from his activist days with Anna Hazare to his current lifestyle. He said, “Kejriwal, who once walked in slippers protesting against Congress, has now spent a fortune on his luxury residence. Be it the liquor scam or Janata clinics, his corrupt practices are evident.”
Choudhary reminisced about the anti-corruption protests led by Anna Hazare and Kejriwal, expressing disappointment in Kejriwal’s alleged shift from those ideals. He asserted, “He may have received interim bail, but once a corrupt leader, always a corrupt leader. These corrupt individuals will face justice. Till they are rooted out, our country cannot progress.”
Kejriwal was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on March 21 for alleged irregularities in the Delhi excise policy 2021-22 and will remain in custody due to a separate arrest by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The Supreme Court, while granting interim bail, questioned the ED’s consistency in arrests under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta highlighted discrepancies in the ED’s actions based on official data.
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders, including Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh, claimed that the interim bail order validated their stance that the charges against Kejriwal were politically motivated. Singh accused the government of using investigative agencies to target opposition parties and dismantle AAP. The Supreme Court has directed that a larger bench will hear the grounds of Kejriwal’s arrest while granting him interim bail.
