The Indian Supreme Court has ordered the release of jailed Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on interim bail so that he can campaign in the national elections.
Kejriwal is the first sitting Chief Minister in the history of independent India to be arrested on March 21, just a month before the elections.
The arrest of Kejriwal, a staunch critic of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party and his arch-rival in Delhi, is seen in a largely political context.
Reacting to his detention, the US State Department and Germany have urged India to follow due process.
The Indian government has denied using investigative agencies to harass Modi’s political rivals, saying they operate independently.
The Supreme Court on Friday granted interim bail to Kejriwal till June 1, the last day of polling in the world’s biggest election.
Kejriwal will be taken into custody once more on June 2.
The Delhi chief minister was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate, India’s anti-financial crime agency, on allegations that his party and state ministers took INR 1 billion (£9.5 million) in bribes from liquor contractors nearly two years ago. .
Kejriwal and his Aam Aadmi Party have denied the allegations once morest him and termed his arrest as ‘illegal’.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) opposed granting bail to Kejriwal, saying any ‘special concession’ for him would be ‘ once morest the rule of law and equality.’
A Supreme Court bench comprising Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Dipankar Dutta said that Kejriwal will be allowed to campaign but cannot perform official duties during these 22 days.
The ED argued on Friday that there is “no precedent for releasing a person” for campaigning.
Justice Khanna remarked that ‘we need not follow such precedents. We are issuing orders.’
Kejriwal was arrested by the police in a late-night raid on March 21 following he failed to comply with nine summonses issued by the Enforcement Directorate.
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He is the third Aam Aadmi Party leader to be jailed for the party’s policy of selling liquor. Now this policy has ended.
The ED alleged that the party benefited certain liquor traders through a policy introduced by the Delhi state administration in 2021 and bribes were taken for the purpose.
Opposition supporters protested Kejriwal’s arrest, calling it Modi’s ‘political revenge’ ahead of the elections. Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are hoping for a third term in power.
India’s general election has been largely affected by allegations that Modi’s party is using the country’s investigative agencies to harm political rivals and suppress critics.
Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party is part of the broader opposition alliance ‘India’ which has posed the biggest challenge to the BJP. Kejriwal’s release is being seen as a step towards increasing the opposition’s chances of winning the elections.
A spokesman for the Indian National Congress, another major opposition party in the alliance, said: ‘We welcome the Supreme Court’s intervention in granting interim bail to Arvind Kejriwal.’
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that Kejriwal’s release would be very helpful in the context of the current elections and she was very happy with the news.
Aam Aadmi Party’s Education Minister Atishi said in a press conference following the verdict was announced, “Today, there is an authoritarian government in this country. A government that is trying to eliminate the opposition.’
“This (Kejriwal’s bail) is a victory for democracy,” he added.
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2024-07-21 08:08:45
