Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal to stay in jail as HC halts bail till next week
The Delhi high court on Friday halted the release of Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal from jail by staying a trial court’s order granting him bail in the excise policy case, dealing a setback to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and changing the course of the ongoing legal dispute yet again.
In a day of dramatic developments, the high court on Friday morning stayed the trial court’s bail order less than 24 hours after it was passed, before hearing the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) plea.
The high court’s order later in the day, issued by a vacation bench of justice Sudhir Kumar Jain, reserved the decision on the agency’s petition and extended its stay until the pronouncement of its verdict in two or three days.
“I am reserving the order for two to three days. I have to go through the entire record. Until the pronouncement of the order on the stay application, the operation of the impugned trial court order shall be stayed. I will pronounce it by Tuesday,” justice Jain stated, also issuing notice on ED’s plea to set aside the trial court’s order.
This legal twist came as a setback to the AAP, which had been buoyed by the previous day’s favourable order and was hopeful of the imminent release of its leader, who has been in custody since March 21 following his arrest by ED, apart from a 21-day interim bail in May for Lok Sabha election campaigning.
It was also a key moment for the AAP, which will vie for a third consecutive term in Delhi in the assembly polls scheduled in eight months.
If released, Kejriwal – the face of the party and its tallest leader – will boost the party’s campaign.