SC registry refuses to urgently list Arvind Kejriwal’s plea for extending interim bail
The Delhi chief minister, a diabetic, sought a seven-day extension, saying that he needed to undergo diagnostic tests.
The Supreme Court registry on Wednesday refused to urgently list Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s request that his interim bail be extended for seven days, NDTV reported.
The registry said that Kejriwal’s petition was not maintainable as he had been allowed to move the trial court seeking regular bail. It also said that since the Supreme Court had reserved its verdict on the chief minister’s petition challenging his arrest, the request for the extension had no relation to the main petition, according to Live Law.
Kejriwal, who suffers from diabetes, had requested that his interim bail be extended so that he could undergo diagnostic tests, including a positron emission tomography-computed tomography, or PET-CT scan.
The Aam Aadmi Party chief was released from Delhi’s Tihar jail on May 10 on interim bail granted by the Supreme Court. The court has directed him to surrender on June 2, a day after voting for the Lok Sabha election ends.
Kejriwal has claimed he lost seven kilograms after his arrest and that his ketone levels are high. He said this could be a symptom of a serious disease. “The doctors of Max hospital, treating him at present, have advised some tests,” said his petition to the Supreme Court.
The Enforcement Directorate is investigating allegations of money laundering in the Delhi liquor policy case based on a first information report filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation.
The two central agencies have alleged that the Aam Aadmi Party government modified Delhi’s now-scrapped liquor policy by increasing the commission for wholesalers from 5% to 12%. This allegedly facilitated the receipt of bribes from wholesalers who had a substantial market share and turnover.
The Enforcement Directorate has alleged that Kejriwal was the “kingpin” and the “key conspirator” in the case and the material evidence showed that he was guilty of money laundering.