Image Source: ANI
On Thursday, vacation judge Nyay Bindu granted bail to Kejriwal, who has been in custody since March, against a bond of ₹1,00,000. The Rouse Avenue Court denied the ED’s request to delay the bail bond filing by 48 hours, prompting the agency to plan an appeal against the decision in the higher court on Friday morning.
Kejriwal was arrested on March 21 as part of a money laundering investigation related to a now-defunct liquor policy. The Supreme Court had previously granted him a 21-day interim bail in light of the Lok Sabha elections, but he surrendered on June 2 after the interim bail expired. Kejriwal’s initial appeal to the Delhi High Court against his arrest was rejected, with the court noting that the ED was compelled to act as he had repeatedly ignored summonses.
Subsequently, Kejriwal applied for regular bail after the Supreme Court declined to extend his interim bail. Opposing the bail, Additional Solicitor General SV Raju accused AAP leaders of accepting bribes to draft a favorable policy, alleging these funds were funneled into the party’s election campaign in Goa via Hawala channels. Raju claimed Kejriwal had interacted with Hawala dealers and the funds were handled by Vinod Chauhan and Chanpreet Singh Rayat. Rayat allegedly received ₹45 crore from these transactions.
Kejriwal’s lawyer countered that the ED had no evidence that AAP received ₹45 crore, nor did Rayat’s statements confirm such payments. The lawyer urged the court to treat Kejriwal impartially. The bail decision sparked political reactions, with prominent figures like Kapil Sibal and Akhilesh Yadav applauding the move as a triumph of truth. AAP leaders criticized the ED’s actions as politically motivated, while the BJP highlighted the recent electoral defeat of the AAP-Congress alliance as a reflection of public opinion on the allegations against Kejriwal.
