Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal walked out of Tihar Jail on Friday evening, hours after the Supreme Court granted him interim bail until June 1 so that he can campaign for the Lok Sabha elections. As he exited through gate number 4, Kejriwal was welcomed by a sea of AAP workers, as well as senior leaders like Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, Atishi, and Saurabh Bhardwaj.
His wife Sunita Kejriwal, his daughter Harshita and AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sandeep Pathak turned up outside the jail to give him a rousing welcome with workers chanting slogans and Kejriwal waving to his supporters. Kejriwal left from Tihar in his convoy. Clad in yellow T-shirts, AAP supporters danced to dhol beats and fed each other sweets at the party office here on Friday
In a major relief to embattled Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, the SC on Friday granted him interim bail in a money laundering case at the peak of the election season but barred him from visiting his office or the Delhi Secretariat and signing official files unless absolutely necessary for obtaining the Lieutenant Governor's approval.
He has been asked to surrender to the prison authorities by June 2. June 1 is the last day of the seven-phase elections. The votes will be counted on June 4. Kejriwal's release from jail, however transient, is expected to give a boost to the AAP's Lok Sabha campaign in Delhi where polling is scheduled for May 25, with its foremost leader hitting the hustings.
Setting him free for 21 days after 50 days of custody in the money laundering case, a bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta in its eight pages order, said Kejriwal will have to surrender and go back to jail on June 2.
Kejriwal was arrested on March 21 by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with the excise policy case.
In his first address, Delhi Chief Minister said, "Didn't I tell you I'd be back soon? I am back." He added, "I'm fighting against dictatorship with all I have, now 140 crore of us have to do that." He also thanked the Supreme Court judges who delivered the verdict. "Tomorrow at 11 am, we will all go to the Hanuman Mandir in Connaught Place, then there will be a Press conference at the party office at 1 pm; I request all of you to come to the Hanuman Mandir," he said.
Slogans like "Jail ke taale toot gaye, Kejriwal ji choot gaye", "Modi ji ja rahe hain, Kejriwal ji aa rahe hain," and "dekho dekho kon aaya, sher aaya sher aaya" rent the air at the AAP office on office. Many supporters carried posters with slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi written on them.
The bench also directed Kejriwal to furnish bail bonds in the sum of Rs 50,000 with one surety of the like amount to the satisfaction of the jail superintendent.
A wave of jubilation swept across the INDIA Bloc parties as the news spread like wildfire, with his AAP terming it a "triumph of truth". "Hanuman ji ki jai. This is the victory of democracy. It is the result of the prayers and blessings of millions of people. Many thanks to everyone," Kejriwal's wife Sunita, who was filling in for her husband during his absence from the electoral battleground, said in a post on X in Hindi.
Kejriwal is the first sitting Chief Minister in India to be put behind bars. Imposing bail conditions on the embattled AAP leader, a bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta said, "He shall not visit the Office of the Chief Minister and the Delhi Secretariat." It asked Kejriwal to not sign any official file unless absolutely necessary to obtain the Lieutenant Governor's sanction during the 21-day interim bail period.
It asked Kejriwal to not sign any official file unless absolutely necessary to obtain the Lieutenant Governor's sanction during the 21-day interim bail period.
"He shall be bound by the statement made on his behalf that he shall not sign official files unless it is required and necessary for obtaining clearance/ approval of the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi," the top court said.
"He will not make any comment with regard to his role in the present case; and will not interact with any of the witnesses and/or have access to any official files connected with the case," the top court said.
"Given the importance, we reject the argument raised on behalf of the prosecution that grant of interim bail/release on this account would be giving a premium of placing the politicians in a benefic position compared to ordinary citizens of this country. While examining the question of grant of interim bail/release, the courts always take into consideration the peculiarities associated with the person in question and the surrounding circumstances. In fact, to ignore the same would be iniquitous and wrong," the bench said in its order.
The apex court, while granting Kejriwal the relief said there is no doubt about the fact that serious accusations have been made against him but he has not been convicted yet."He does not have any criminal antecedents. He is not a threat to society," the bench said.
"It is no gain saying that the general elections to the Lok Sabha are the most significant and important event this year, as they should be in a national election year. Between 650-700 million voters out of an electorate of about 970 million will cast their votes to elect the Government of this country for the next five years," the bench said.
"The prosecution has rightly pointed out that the appellant -Kejriwal had failed to appear in spite of nine (9) notices/summons, first of which was issued in October 2023. This is a negative factor, but there are several other facets which we are required to take into consideration. The appellant -Kejriwal is the Chief Minister of Delhi and a leader of one of the national parties. No doubt, serious accusations have been made, but he has not been convicted. He does not have any criminal antecedents. He is not a threat to society," it said.
"The investigation in the present case has remained pending since August 2022. Kejriwal was arrested, as noted above, on 21.03.2024. More importantly, legality and validity of the arrest itself is under challenge before this court and we are yet to finally pronounce on the same. The situation cannot be compared with harvesting crops or pleading to look after business affairs. In this background, once the matter is subjudice and the questions relating to legality of arrest are under consideration, a more holistic and libertarian view is justified, in the background that the 18th Lok Sabha General Elections are being held," it said.
"Twenty-one days… should not make any difference," Justice Khanna noted, saying the ED case was registered in August 2022 while the Chief Minister was arrested on March 21 this year."He (Kejriwal) was out there for one-and-a-half-years. He could have been arrested earlier or after but nothing such thing happened," the bench told the ED.
"The grant of interim bail will not be treated as an expression of opinion on the merits of the case or the criminal appeal which is pending consideration before us," the bench said.
"As the appeal is pending before us, we do not think it would be proper for us to direct the appellant - Kejriwal to approach the trial court for interim bail/release. This may not be apt in view of the legal issues and contentions that are under examination and consideration before us," it said.
As soon as the bench assembled for pronouncing the order, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta pointed out that radical preacher Amritpal Singh, who is currently lodged in Assam's Dibrugarh jail under the National Security Act, has approached the Government for contesting the elections.
"Now we have been approached by Amritpal Singh. That's our concern. I could not find any precedent to assist the court on this (interim bail for poll campaigning). A person is being released for election campaigning," he told the bench.
