Supreme Court tells ED it may consider giving Kejriwal bail due to polls

Supreme Court asks Enforcement Directorate's lawyer to be ready to address this issue when the case is heard on May 7

The Supreme Court, on Friday told the Enforcement Directorate (ED) it could consider granting interim bail to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal due to the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.

The court instructed ED’s lawyer to be ready to address this issue when the case is heard on May 7, according to a report in the Hindustan Times (HT).

“We may grant or we may not grant. But we must be open to you as neither side should be taken by surprise," said a bench of Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta.

The court asked the ED to propose potential conditions to be enforced on Kejriwal in the event he gets interim bail. Additionally, the court asked the ED whether Kejriwal, in his capacity as the chief minister, should be authorised to sign any documents.

HT quoted Justice Khanna as saying, "Please also take instructions — we are not saying anything (on whether bail will be granted or not) — we would like to consider grant of interim bail because of elections. Abhishek Singhvi do not start without even hearing us. We may or may not grant. We are going to hear from you. We must be open to you, because neither side should be taken by surprise. Second, because of the position you (Kejriwal) hold, whether you should be signing any files? We are being open, do not assume anything..."

Delhi CM Kejriwal was arrested by the ED on March 21 in connection with a money laundering case associated with Delhi's now-scrapped excise policy. Despite numerous bail requests, none have been granted thus far.

Kejriwal remains in office and his wife, Sunita Kejriwal, is campaigning for the Aam Aadmi Party in the Lok Sabha elections.