The Delhi High Court on Friday directed an interim stay on the trial court order granting bail to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the liquor policy case. The Delhi Chief Minister will remain in Tihar jail for now.
The Delhi High Court is likely to pronounce its order on June 25. "I am reserving the order for two to three days. Till pronouncement of the order, the operation of the trial court order is stayed," Justice Sudhir Kumar Jain said.
The single judge bench passed the order after the ED moved the High Court challenging Thursday's trial court order. The court's direction came hours before the AAP supremo was to be released from Tihar Jail.
During the hearing, Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, appearing for the ED, said the trial court's order was completely "perverse" as it was contrary to the mandate of Section 45 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
The ASG also said that he was not adequately heard by the trial court.
"You don't hear me. You don't look at the reply saying it's bulky. There can't be a more perverse order than this," ASG Raju said.
Questioning the trial court's order, ASG Raju asserted that the ED had shown evidence of AAP using proceeds of crime in Goa Assembly elections and had traced Rs 45 crore.
The senior advocate also claimed the trial court dismissed significant findings, including Kejriwal's alleged role in demanding Rs 100 crore kickbacks.
"Holding a Constitutional chair is a ground for bail? That means every minister will be granted bail. There cannot be anything more perverse than this," ASG Raju further said.
Countering the ED, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi said "not one paisa" was traced to Arvind Kejriwal.
Calling the ED's approach "deplorable", Singhvi stated that an accused cannot be kept indefinitely in jail merely for the probe agency to find evidence.
"Like Alice in Wonderland, ED has its own meaning of perversity. For them, it means error is perversity and unless every argument of ED is repeated verbatim, it is perversity."
Senior advocate Vikram Chaudhary, representing the Delhi Chief Minister, also countered ASG Raju, saying ED's stand is my way or the highway. He said the trial court's order had considered all aspects raised by the ED.
