The Supreme Court on Friday told the Enforcement Directorate (ED) that it may consider interim bail to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who is in judicial custody, in the liquor policy case, due to the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.
A bench of Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta was hearing Arvind Kejriwal's plea challenging his arrest and remand by the Enforcement Directorate in the Delhi liquor policy case.
During the hearing today, the bench said it was yet to make a decision on Kejriwal's interim bail. It also said that it will hear the matter again on May 7.
"We must be open so that neither side is taken by surprise," it said.
The court asked whether Kejriwal, who has been lodged in Delhi's Tihar Jail since April 1, can still sign official files or not.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the ED to respond till May 3 to the questions related to the arrest of Kejriwal, including the timing of it just before the general elections.
Justice Khanna had said, "Liberty is exceedingly important, you can't deny that. The last question is concerning the timing of the arrest, which they have pointed out, just before the general elections."
The top court also asked the probe agency to respond and explain the time gap which is taking place between the initiation of proceedings and repeated complaints being filed after some time.
Kejriwal was arrested on March 21 by the ED in a money laundering case linked to the now-scrapped Delhi liquor policy. He will remain in judicial custody till May 7.
On April 9, the Delhi High Court ruled it had found nothing illegal about the Chief Minister’s arrest.
