• Source:JND
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In a major setback for Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, the Delhi High Court on Tuesday stayed the bail granted to the AAP convenor by the trial court on June 20 in the liquor policy case. A bench of Justice Sudhir Kumar Jain, while staying the trial court's bail order, said "the Trial Court has not applied its mind and has not considered the material".

The bench had reserved the order on June 21 after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) challenged the trial court's decision, which has been put on hold until the ruling. Meanwhile, the High Court has already fixed the main matter for July, where ED challenged the trial court order granting Arvind Kejriwal regular bail in the case.

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The Aam Aadmi Party has expressed its discontent with the High Court's order and said that it will approach the Supreme Court to challenge the stay. "We dissent with the decision of the High Court. We will challenge this decision in the Supreme Court. The order on bail can't be stayed in this manner, the Supreme Court too has said this yesterday," the party said in a statement.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday filed written submissions before the Delhi High Court opposing any relief to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the Excise Policy money laundering case. ED opposed the trial court order granting bail to Kejriwal and called the order illegal and perverse.

The ED further stated that new material collected against Arvind Kejriwal post 2023 was not considered by the vacation judge. Enforcement Directorate lists statements of 13 Angariyas, Goa AAP workers, and AAP office bearers as new statements. "Denial of ample opportunity to the Enforcement Directorate is a violation of one of the conditions of Section 45," said the ED to the Delhi High Court.

The Supreme Court on Monday adjourned for June 26 the plea of Arvind Kejriwal challenging the order of the Delhi High Court. A vacation bench of Justices Manoj Misra and SVN Bhatti observed that the decision of the High Court to grant an interim stay on Kejriwal's bail without passing a final order in the matter was "unusual.".

"In stay matters, judgements are not reserved but passed on the spot. What has happened here is unusual. We will have it (case before it) the day after," the bench said.

On June 21, the High Court ordered the grant of an interim stay on bail while reserving its order and asked both sides to file their written submissions by Monday. Kejriwal then filed an appeal in the top court against the High Court order. On June 20, the trial judge granted bail to Kejriwal in the money laundering case.

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The next day, the ED moved an urgent petition before the High Court challenging the bail order. The High Court heard both sides extensively reserve orders on the ED's application to stay the bail order, and it halted the release of Kejriwal until the pronouncement of its order.

 

(With Agency Inputs)