The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday challenged the Supreme Court’s grant of interim bail to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in a money laundering case related to the Excise policy scam, saying the right to campaign in elections is neither a fundamental right nor a constitutional right.
In a fresh affidavit filed in the Supreme Court, the Enforcement Directorate said that no political leader has been granted interim bail for campaigning, even if they are not contesting elections.
“It must be noted that the right to campaign for election is neither a fundamental right nor a constitutional right, not even a statutory right,” the Enforcement Directorate said. He also said, “No political leader has been granted interim bail for campaigning, even if he is not a contesting candidate. “Even a contesting candidate will not be granted interim bail if he is in custody for his own campaign,” the enforcement department said.
Hearing the petition filed by Arvind Kejriwal against his arrest in the case, Justice Sanjeev Khanna said, “We will announce the interim order (on bail) on Friday. The main case related to the petition against the arrest on that day will be taken up for hearing,” he said. Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal was arrested on March 21 and is currently in Tihar jail in judicial custody.
On May 7, a bench comprising Justice Dibangar Dutta deferred judgment on Kejriwal’s interim bail plea.
A Delhi court on Tuesday extended Kejriwal’s judicial custody till May 20 in the case.
The Delhi High Court on April 9 upheld Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest, saying the arrest was not illegal and that his repeated evasion of summons and refusal to appear for trial left “little leeway” for enforcement action.
Kejriwal has been arrested for alleged corruption and money laundering in the formulation and implementation of the Delhi government’s now defunct excise policy for 2021-22.
