Arvind Kejriwal gets bail in liquor policy case
Judge orders Kejriwal's release on a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh
A Delhi court on Thursday (June 20) granted bail to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the liquor scam case.
Special Judge Niyay Bindu also declined the Enforcement Directorate's prayer to keep the bail order in abeyance for 48 hours to allow the central agency to appeal against it in a superior court. The judge ordered Kejriwal's release on a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief is likely to come out of jail tomorrow, Friday. The bail order has to reach the jail first.
Court conditions
The court imposed certain conditions on Kejriwal before granting him the relief, including that he will not try to hamper the investigation or influence the witnesses. The judge also directed Kejriwal to appear before the court whenever required and to cooperate with the investigation.
The court denied the ED's request to allow at least 48 hours to sign the bail bond in order for the central agency to challenge it before the relevant court.
The judge had reserved the order earlier during the day after hearing the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which sought to link Kejriwal to the alleged proceeds of crime and co-accused, and the defence that claimed the prosecution has no evidence to nail the AAP leader.
No evidence: Kejriwal
During the hearing of the bail plea, Kejriwal once again said that the investigating agency had no evidence against him. The agency has arrested him only on the basis of statements, statements of people who have a tarnished image somewhere or who were arrested earlier in this case and were granted bail as soon as they became government witnesses.
On Thursday, Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, who appeared on behalf of ED, opposed the bail plea. He said that Kejriwal is also the convenor of the Aam Aadmi Party. "Whatever work is done by the party does not happen without his consent. Even if he says that he has not taken any money himself or has not done any deal, the way Aam Aadmi Party got kickbacks and that money was used in the Goa elections, then how is it possible that all this happened without the consent of Kejriwal. Therefore, he should not be granted bail," he argued.
Arvind Kejriwal was arrested on March 21 in connection with the Delhi liquor scam.
