Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convener Arvind Kejriwal’s refusal to furnish bail bond has been seen as ‘a deliberate attempt to go to jail’ by lawyers across the Capital. While everyone maintained that a criminal court has limited powers and has to function in complete accordance with the CrPC, they opined that the former Delhi Chief Minister was trying to amend the law as per his convenience.
“The court in had no option but to send Kejriwal to judicial custody as it is the set procedure and it cannot act against that law. The court had even given a relaxation to Kejriwal by asking him to furnish a personal bond on which Yogendra Yadav was released on Thursday. But he refused even that. In fact, the High Court must take disciplinary action for the party’s claims that in the past four times they were not asked to furnish the bond. It is mandatory,” said MS Khan, a noted criminal lawyer.
Another criminal lawyer, KK Manan said, “The decision was totally the discretion of the court. No politician or leader is above the law and it is same for all. An arrogant Kejriwal refused not just surety bond, but also the personal bond. So he had to go to jail. In fact, in most cases people are not even offered personal bond, but the court was lax enough to extend that option to Kejriwal. It was a clear political gimmick.”