New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who was released from Tihar Jail on May 10 on interim bail till June 1 after his arrest in the alleged Delhi Excise Policy scam case, has been censured by the Supreme Court over an alleged statement made at an election rally by ‘…if people use brooms. If I vote for BJP, I will not have to go back to jail,” he said on Thursday over the objection of the Enforcement Directorate (ED). Its (top court) order is very clear that he (Kejriwal) will have to surrender on June 2.
The bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Dutta clarified that it has not made an ‘exception’ in Kejriwal’s case. It is appropriate that he be released on interim bail. The bench further said, “Our order is very clear. We have fixed a time limit during which he is on bail and the date on which he has to surrender (on June 2, Kejriwal has to surrender). This is the order of the apex court.
Before the apex court, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta had objected to the said statement allegedly given by Kejriwal. Referring to Kejriwal’s alleged statement before the bench, Mehta claimed, “This (statement) is a slap on the face of the institution (top court). I object to this.”
Quoting Kejriwal, the Solicitor General said, ‘The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convenor said in his public speech – They (people) say that I will have to go back to jail in 20 days. If you would have voted for our party’s election symbol ‘broom’ (AAP’s election symbol), I would not have had to go to jail.”
Before the top court, Mehta asked, “How can it be that if you (people) vote for me, I will not have to go back to jail on June 2.” On this the bench again clarified, “This is their perception. Our order is clear.”
Senior lawyer AM Singhvi, referring to Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s statement on Kejriwal’s interim bail, said, ‘I did not think he would say this. I will file an affidavit and he (Kejriwal) was making malicious allegations against the government…I will file an affidavit about the top minister of this (central) government.
To this the bench said, “As far as critical analysis or even criticism of the judgment is concerned, you may have different views. We have no problem with this. Our order is very clear.” The apex court was hearing arguments on a petition filed by Chief Minister Kejriwal (which has raised questions on the merits of the case) challenging his March 21 arrest and ED custody in the 2022 liquor policy scam case on behalf of the Enforcement Directorate.
On May 10, the apex court had granted interim bail to Kejriwal on his petition to campaign till June 1. After his release, he is continuously holding election meetings and campaigning in various ways.
