Today, Delhi High Court listed for hearing on May 8 the Enforcement Directorate’s plea challenging the bail granted to former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal by a trial court in the excise policy–linked money laundering case.

The bench hedaed by Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma directed that the trial court records be called for in the meantime.

When the matter was taken up, Kejriwal’s counsel requested that the hearing be deferred for some time as the senior counsel was not available at that moment.

"Then we will have it some other day. Passover is not possible," the court said, noting that it was already 3 pm. 

Case Brief:

On July 12, 2024, the Supreme Court granted interim bail to Kejriwal in the money laundering case, while referring three questions relating to the “need and necessity of arrest” under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to a larger bench.

Earlier, on June 20, 2024, a trial court in Delhi had granted Kejriwal bail on a personal bond of ₹1 lakh, a relief that was subsequently stayed by the High Court in the present proceedings.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on March 21, 2024, in the money laundering case, and later by the Central Bureau of Investigation on June 26, 2024, in the corruption case.

The Delhi government’s excise policy was scrapped in 2022 after the Lieutenant Governor ordered a CBI probe into alleged irregularities and corruption in its formulation and implementation.

According to the CBI and the ED, the policy was modified in a manner that involved irregularities and resulted in undue favours being extended to certain licence holders.