New Delhi, May 10: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday evening walked out of Tihar jail after the Supreme Court granted him interim bail in the Delhi liquor policy case. The first visuals of Kejriwal moving out of the jail was streamed live by AAP handles on social media platform X. "All the 140 crore people of this country have to fight against dictatorship," said Kejriwal. Talking to AAP supporters and party workers after coming out of jail said, he added, "it is because of Lord Hanuman that he is out of jail" and thanked the Supreme Court judges too.
He also announced that AAP would hold a press conference at 1 PM on Saturday (May 11) at the party headquarters.
AAP workers celebrated bail to Kejriwal and were seen distributing sweets as the Delhi CM walked out of Tihar jail after close to a month and a half.
Earlier, ignoring the Excise Department's objections, the Supreme Court on Friday granted an interim bail to Delhi chief miniter Arvind Kejriwal till June1 in the alleged money laundering case in the Delhi liquor policy scam.
He has been in the judicial custody since his arrest on March 21. The top court ordered him to surrender and go back to the Tihar Jail on June 2.
A Bench comprising Justices Khanna and Dipankar Datta said they will be passing a a detailed order over the matter soon.
The judges earlier pointed out that it would be wrong on the part of the Chief Minister to exercise his official duties or sign files if he were to obtain interim bail. “Such a development would have a cascading effect,” Justice Khanna observed.
Arvind Kejriwal shall not visit chief minister’s office and Delhi Secretariat, the Supreme Court said while granting him interim bail.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta opposes the interim bail saying that Kejriwal did not respond to summons by the ED three or four times citing elections.
Kejriwal was arrested on March 21, barely days after the Model Code of Conduct for the general election was declared on March 16. He is currently lodged in the Tihar jail on his sixth stretch of remand till May 20.
Delhi Congress chief Devender Yadav welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision granting bail to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, stating this will boost the faith of the people in democracy.
“We have been saying that the BJP and its leaders have caged the establishments of democracy. Because of this, the sitting CMs were sent to jail. I appreciate the Supreme Court’s order of granting (interim) bail to Arvind Kejriwal. This will boost the faith of people in democracy,” he said.
Bail to Kejriwal to campaign will end arrests of politicians as elections are year-round phenomenon in India, ED tells Supreme Court. Bail to Kejriwal to campaign will end arrests of politicians as elections are year-round phenomenon in India, ED told the Supreme Court.
Though the Lok Sabha elections in Delhi are on May 25, the court granted him the interim bail since his party, Aam Aadmi Party, is also contesting in other states also.
The case arose from a report submitted by Delhi Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar to Lieutenant Governor (LG) Vinai Kumar Saxena in July 2022 alleging that there were procedural lapses in the formulation of the Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22, which came into force in November 2021 but was later scrapped in July 2022.
The Chief Secretary alleged that kickbacks received by the Aam Admi Party (AAP) leaders from operators of alcohol businesses for preferential treatment were used to “influence” the 2022 Assembly elections in Punjab and Goa. Subsequently, the ED claimed that the scam involved giving wholesale liquor businesses to private entities with a fixed margin of 12% for a 6% kickback.
FIVE CONDITIONS SLAPPED ON KEJRIWAL
A Supreme Court bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta asked Delhi Chief Minister not to say anything regarding the alleged liquor policy scam as imposed on AAP leader Sanjay Singh while granted bail in the case last month.
He is allowed to campaign only for AAP in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.
Kejriwal is not allowed to discharge any official duties as chief minister during the period, nor will he go to Delhi secretariat.
He will have to surrender and go back to jail on June 2. Also, he will not interact with any of the witnesses, nor will he access to any official files connected with the case.
