Delhi High Court halts bail order for CM Kejriwal in liquor policy case

The Delhi High Court has temporarily halted the bail granted by a lower court to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the excise policy case.

Justice Sudhir Kumar Jain found that the trial court did not adequately consider the evidence provided by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and agreed with Additional Solicitor General (ASG) S.V. Raju that the central agency had not been given enough time to present its case.

"Therefore, the ED's application is approved. The enforcement of the contested order is stayed," Justice Kumar declared while responding to the ED’s challenge of the bail granted to the Chief Minister.

On June 20, Special Judge Niyay Bindu of Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court had ordered the release of the AAP leader on a bail bond of ₹1 lakh, noting the lack of direct evidence from the ED connecting him to the crime's proceeds.

However, the ED appealed to the High Court the next day, calling the lower court's decision "flawed" and irrelevant.

The High Court, siding with the ED, imposed an interim stay on Kejriwal's release and reserved its judgment to review the case details.

This led Kejriwal to petition the Supreme Court, arguing that his personal liberty was being unjustly restricted.

The Supreme Court, however, chose not to intervene immediately, postponing the hearing of Kejriwal's plea to June 26, pending the High Court's final decision.

The Supreme Court acknowledged the unusual nature of a High Court reserving orders in a case involving personal liberty.

Kejriwal was detained by the ED on March 21, accused of being the mastermind behind the Delhi Excise policy scam. After spending several weeks in jail, he was released by the Supreme Court on May 10 to campaign for the Lok Sabha elections but returned to custody on June 2 after the Supreme Court denied further relief.