In a great relief to beleaguered Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, a court here on Thursday granted him bail in a money laundering case related to the alleged excise fraud.
Special Judge Niyay Bindu also denied the Enforcement Directorate's request to stay the bail ruling for 48 hours to allow the central agency to pursue legal options, such as filing an appeal with a superior court.
The judge granted Kejriwal's release on a personal bail of Rs 1 lakh but placed various conditions before granting him freedom, including that he not interfere with the inquiry or influence witnesses.
The judge also urged Kejriwal to appear in court whenever necessary and to help with the probe.
After hearing arguments from the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which intended to connect Kejriwal to the purported proceeds of crime and co-accused, and the defense, which maintained that the prosecution lacked sufficient evidence to convict the AAP leader, the court had earlier in the day reserved the ruling.
Kejriwal will be freed from Tihar prison after his attorneys provide the bail bond to the court tomorrow. However, in the upcoming days, it is also possible that the ED will contest the bail decision in front of a higher court.
The Aam Aadmi Party and its allies will now have a stick with which to beat the Modi government, as the AAP national convenor's regular bail will be granted in accordance with Section 45 of the strict Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), which states that bail can only be granted if the judge is prima facie satisfied that the accused has not committed the offense and that he is unlikely to commit any offense while on bail.
However, a thorough order is still pending.
On March 21, just after the Delhi High Court denied Kejriwal's request for protection from arrest in relation to summonses he had received, the ED detained him.
Kejriwal was given temporary release by the Supreme Court on May 10 to campaign in the Lok Sabha elections till June 1. The court further stated that Kejriwal must turn himself in and return to jail on June 2. On June 2, Kejriwal turned himself in to the Tihar prison authorities, and he has remained there ever since.
On June 5, the trial court refused him the temporary release he had requested, citing a number of medical conditions.
