The Enforcement Directorate (ED), in a fresh affidavit in the Supreme Court, opposed Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s bail plea in a money-laundering case linked to the alleged excise policy scam amid the ongoing Lok Sabha Elections.
The probe agency said that poll campaigning was “not a fundamental, constitutional or a legal right”. The ED told the top court, “No political leader has ever been granted interim bail for campaigning for elections even though he’s not contesting polls.”
“It is relevant to note that the right to campaign for an election is neither a fundamental right nor a constitutional right and not even a legal right,” the agency said. It added that to its knowledge, “no political leader has been granted interim bail for campaigning even though he is not the contesting candidate. Even a contesting candidate is not granted interim bail if he is in custody for his own campaigning”.
On May 7, the bench, also comprising Justice Dipankar Datta, had reserved its verdict on Kejriwal’s interim bail plea. On Tuesday, a Delhi court extended Kejriwal’s judicial custody in the case till May 20.
The Delhi High Court had, on April 9, upheld the AAP leader’s arrest, saying there was no illegality and the ED was left with “little option” after he skipped repeated summonses and refused to join the investigation.