The Supreme Court asserted on Thursday that it has not made any special exceptions for Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in granting him interim bail for campaigning in the Lok Sabha polls, and welcomed critical analysis of its judgment.
A bench comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta dismissed the arguments from both the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Kejriwal’s lawyer regarding statements related to the interim bail granted to the Aam Aadmi Party national convenor.
“We have not made any exception for anybody; we stated in our order what we believed was justified,” the bench stated, emphasizing that critical analysis of the judgment is “welcome.”
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the ED, raised objections to Kejriwal’s speeches at poll rallies, where he suggested that a vote for AAP would prevent him from returning to prison on June 2.
“It is his assumption; we cannot comment on it,” the bench responded to Mehta.
Advocate Abhishek Singhvi, representing Kejriwal, pointed out a statement made by a senior Union minister, who was not named during the proceedings.
The Supreme Court was hearing Kejriwal’s main plea against his arrest.
On May 10, the apex court granted interim bail to Kejriwal in a money laundering case linked to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam, requiring him to surrender on June 2.
The Delhi Chief Minister was arrested on March 21.
(With PTI inputs)
