New Delhi: A two-judge bench of the Supreme Court on Friday decided to grant bail to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the Delhi excise policy case but it did not alter the two stringent conditions out of five, which were imposed by another bench in the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) case.
Due to these conditions, Kejriwal, though out on bail, will not be able to visit the chief Minister’s office and the Delhi secretariat and cannot sign official files unless it is required and needs to obtain prior approval from Lieutenant Governor (LG) of Delhi.
The terms and conditions of his bail reads, “(a) he shall furnish bail bonds in the sum of Rs.50,000/- with one surety of the like amount to the satisfaction of the Jail Superintendent; (b) he shall not visit the Office of the Chief Minister and the Delhi Secretariat; (c) he shall be bound by the statement made on his behalf that he shall not sign official files unless it is required and necessary for obtaining clearance/ approval of the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi; (d) he will not make any comment with regard to his role in the present case; (e) and, he will not interact with any of the witnesses and/or have access to any official files connected with the case”.
Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan agreed to grant bail to Kejriwal in the CBI case but one of the judges expressed reservation on the conditions (b) and (c).
In his verdict, Justice Kant said, “The terms and conditions imposed by a coordinate bench of this court vide orders dated May 10, 2024 and July 12, 2024, passed in criminal appeal, titled Arvind Kejriwal v. Directorate of Enforcement, are imposed mutatis mutandis in the present case”.
However, Justice Bhuyan said so far bail conditions are concerned, this court in the ED case, i.e. in criminal appeal No.2493 of 2024, has imposed several terms and conditions including clauses (b) and (c) vide the orders passed on May 10 and July 12, which have been incorporated in the judgment delivered by Justice Surya Kant.
“Though I have serious reservations on clauses (b) and (c) which debars the appellant from entering the office of Chief Minister and the Delhi Secretariat as well as from signing files, having regard to judicial discipline, I would refrain from further expressing my views thereon at this stage since those conditions have been imposed in the separate ED case by a two-judge bench of this court,” Justice Bhuyan said.
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