The Supreme Court on Friday granted interim bail to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in money laundering charges linked to the excise policy case, but left him to take a call on whether he should now step down from office, in light of the allegations against him. The relief would also not translate to an actual release from jail as Mr. Kejriwal was separately arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) under the Prevention of Corruption Act in connection with the same case on June 25. He is currently under remand in the CBI case. âWe are conscious that Arvind Kejriwal is an elected leader and the Chief Minister of Delhi, a post holding importance and influence. We have also referred to the allegations. While we do not give any direction, since we are doubtful whether the court can direct an elected leader to step down or not function as the Chief Minister or as a Minister, we leave it to Arvind Kejriwal to take a call,â a Bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta observed. This is the second time the Supreme Court has allowed Mr. Kejriwal interim bail in the case. The first instance was on May 10 during the Lok Sabha election. Justice Khanna said Mr. Kejriwal deserved interim bail. His rights of life and liberty were âsacrosanctâ. He had been incarcerated for over 90 days. The court reiterated the same bail conditions imposed on Mr. Kejriwal in its May 10 interim order, including a bar on him from visiting the Chief Ministerâs office or signing official files. After Mr. Kejriwal was arrested in June, The Hindu had noted in an editorial that the way the investigation was handled reflected poorly on âa system that has been weaponised by the current regime to target political opponents.â A truly impartial agency, it pointed out, should not rush to arrest anyone, leave alone those holding high political office, but instead approach the trial court with a strong and well-documented case, and leave it to the courts to decide on the guilt or innocence of the accused. âMr. Kejriwal, on his part, should have resigned immediately on arrest to avoid the perception he could influence witnesses or tamper with the evidence.â On Friday, the two-judge Bench asked a larger Bench to frame questions and decide bail conditions that could be imposed by courts in future in cases like that of Mr. Kejriwal, a sitting Chief Minister in custody and facing money laundering charges. The court also referred to a larger Bench questions raised by Mr. Kejriwal on whether an arrest under Section 19 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) could be quashed on the ground that such an arrest was both needless and unnecessary. Mr. Kejriwal had argued that the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) had registered the case related to the now-scrapped excise policy way back in August 2022 and only found it âneedful and necessaryâ to arrest him nearly two years later on March 21, within a few days after the Model Code of Conduct came into force for the General Election 2024. Fridayâs judgment came on a petition filed by Mr. Kejriwal against his arrest by the ED under the PMLA on March 21. In another development, the Supreme Court on Friday said an inclination seen among higher courts to stall bail creates a real and present danger to the rights of personal liberty and due process. Bench of Justices A.S. Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan said the propensity to stay reasoned bail orders passed by trial courts was âshockingâ. âStay on bail should not be granted except in very rare and exceptional cases. Stay of a bail order should be given only if there is apparent perversity or if provisions of law mandating the satisfaction of certain special conditions were not satisfied or if the person is a terrorist,â Justice Oka said, adding that high courts cannot pass them mechanically. The court said it would formally address in a judgment the issue of âcasualâ orders passed by High Courts staying or suspending bail granted by trial courts. The court was reserving for judgment an appeal filed by Parvinder Khurana, an accused in a money laundering case, whose bail was stayed by the Delhi High Court for more than a year. âThis is shocking. What signals are we sending by passing such stay orders? Can bail be stayed as a matter of course like this? How can bail be stayed for a whole year? Was he a terrorist? What was the reason to stay his bail?â Justice Oka asked the Enforcement Directorate (ED). Justice Oka said bail conditions set by the trial court were safeguard enough to prevent an accused from absconding or influencing witnesses. The Hinduâs Editorials A wobbly walk: On Modiâs Moscow visit and India-Russia ties âCrash course: On the health of transport vehicles in India The Hinduâs Daily Quiz The Koyna Dam is in which State? Madhya Pradesh Gujarat Maharashtra Rajasthan To know the answer and to play the full quiz, click here. [logo] Editor's Pick 13 July 2024 [The Hindu logo] [EP Logo] Editor's Pick 13 July 2024 In the Editor's Pick newsletter, The Hindu explains why a story was important enough to be carried on the front page of today's edition of our newspaper. [View in browser]( [More newsletters]( Kejriwal gets interim bail, but no jail relief The Supreme Court on Friday granted [interim bail]( Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in money laundering charges linked to the excise policy case, but left him to take a call on whether he should now step down from office, in light of the allegations against him. The relief would also not translate to an actual release from jail as Mr. Kejriwal was separately arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) under the Prevention of Corruption Act in connection with the same case on June 25. He is currently under remand in the CBI case. âWe are conscious that Arvind Kejriwal is an elected leader and the Chief Minister of Delhi, a post holding importance and influence. We have also referred to the allegations. While we do not give any direction, since we are doubtful whether the court can direct an elected leader to step down or not function as the Chief Minister or as a Minister, we leave it to Arvind Kejriwal to take a call,â a Bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta observed. This is the second time the [Supreme Court has allowed Mr. Kejriwal interim bai]( in the case. The first instance was on May 10 during the Lok Sabha election. Justice Khanna said Mr. Kejriwal deserved interim bail. His rights of life and liberty were âsacrosanctâ. He had been incarcerated for over 90 days. The court reiterated the same bail conditions imposed on Mr. Kejriwal in its May 10 interim order, including a bar on him from visiting the Chief Ministerâs office or signing official files. After Mr. Kejriwal was arrested in June, The Hindu had noted in [an editorial]( the way the investigation was handled reflected poorly on âa system that has been weaponised by the current regime to target political opponents.â A truly impartial agency, it pointed out, should not rush to arrest anyone, leave alone those holding high political office, but instead approach the trial court with a strong and well-documented case, and leave it to the courts to decide on the guilt or innocence of the accused. âMr. Kejriwal, on his part, should have resigned immediately on arrest to avoid the perception he could influence witnesses or tamper with the evidence.â On Friday, the two-judge Bench asked a larger Bench to frame questions and decide bail conditions that could be imposed by courts in future in cases like that of Mr. Kejriwal, a sitting Chief Minister in custody and facing money laundering charges. The court also referred to a larger Bench questions raised by Mr. Kejriwal on whether an arrest under Section 19 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) could be quashed on the ground that such an arrest was both needless and unnecessary. Mr. Kejriwal had argued that the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) had registered the case related to the now-scrapped excise policy way back in August 2022 and only found it âneedful and necessaryâ to arrest him nearly two years later on March 21, within a few days after the Model Code of Conduct came into force for the General Election 2024. Fridayâs judgment came on a petition filed by Mr. Kejriwal against his arrest by the ED under the PMLA on March 21. In another development, the Supreme Court on Friday said an inclination seen among higher courts to [stall bail creates a real]( present danger to the rights of personal liberty and due process. Bench of Justices A.S. Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan said the propensity to stay reasoned bail orders passed by trial courts was âshockingâ. âStay on bail should not be granted except in very rare and exceptional cases. Stay of a bail order should be given only if there is apparent perversity or if provisions of law mandating the satisfaction of certain special conditions were not satisfied or if the person is a terrorist,â Justice Oka said, adding that high courts cannot pass them mechanically. The court said it would formally address in a judgment the issue of âcasualâ orders passed by High Courts staying or suspending bail granted by trial courts. The court was reserving for judgment an appeal filed by Parvinder Khurana, an accused in a money laundering case, whose bail was stayed by the Delhi High Court for more than a year. âThis is shocking. What signals are we sending by passing such stay orders? Can bail be stayed as a matter of course like this? How can bail be stayed for a whole year? Was he a terrorist? What was the reason to stay his bail?â Justice Oka asked the Enforcement Directorate (ED). Justice Oka said bail conditions set by the trial court were safeguard enough to prevent an accused from absconding or influencing witnesses. The Hinduâs Editorials [Arrow][A wobbly walk: On Modiâs Moscow visit and India-Russia ties](
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