Denied any immediate relief Saturday after a Delhi court reserved its order for June 5 on his plea for interim bail, Delhi Chief Minister and AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal will have to surrender Sunday and return to Tihar Jail. Arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on March 21 in the Delhi excise policy case, Kejriwal was granted interim bail on May 10 by the Supreme Court until June 1 for election campaigning. He had been directed to surrender on June 2. On May 28, the Supreme Court Registry declined to list his plea seeking extension of interim bail, saying “no reasonable cause or grounds” had been made to entertain his application. It pointed out that the Supreme Court, while reserving its order on his petition challenging his arrest by the ED, had said that Kejriwal may, if advised, file an application for grant of bail. Kejriwal moved two pleas before the Rouse Avenue Court — one seeking interim bail for seven days to undergo medical tests, another for regular bail in the money laundering case filed by the ED. On Saturday, the ED told the court of Special Judge Kaveri Baweja that Kejriwal’s interim bail plea was not maintainable as he was out on bail. Additional Solicitor General S V Raju and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said he must surrender (and return to Tihar Jail) before his interim bail plea can be heard. “What they are technically asking is for an extension of interim bail which was granted by the Supreme Court,” Raju said. It was also argued that the trial court does not have inherent powers to release a person without complying with the stringent sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act that say bail can be granted only if a prima facie case against the accused is not made out. “If he wants bail without getting into the sections of the PMLA, then he should have moved the High Court,” the lawyers for ED said. Countering this, Senior Advocate N Hariharan, representing Kejriwal, said, “Are my friends (ED lawyers) suggesting that an ill person is remedy-less? The SC is conscious of the situation. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have granted me the liberty to move for bail.” Mehta said, “My submission is: Only the SC can make that modification for an extension in the interim bail… Kejriwal has said he had an unexplained weight loss. This very fact is false.” The interim bail plea on medical grounds highlighted fluctuating sugar levels and increased ketone levels. Hariharan said the increased ketone levels could be indicative of diabetic ketoacidosis, a complication which could be fatal. He said tests such as PET scan, LFT, KFT, CBC, Holter test had to be conducted and these could cumulatively take as long as a week. “What harm will be done if some apprehensions are eliminated from the CM’s mind? No prejudice is going to be caused… Let us have some empathy for the patient,” Hariharan said. He also underlined a “sudden” weight loss of around 6 kg following Kejriwal’s arrest. The ED submitted that Kejriwal’s medical tests would take a few hours and not some days and that the prison authorities could take care of him in jail. On the rise in Kejriwal’s ketone levels, Raju said this could be due to a UTI (urinary tract infection) as well. “Why didn’t he visit the doctor earlier (after coming out of jail)? .He was creating a case for extending his interim bail. He is trying to cheat the court through the delay. He had sufficient time… Why didn’t he get the various tests done?” he said, adding that Kejriwal had been campaigning after being granted interim bail. Showing the court a video of the CM with members of the INDIA bloc, Raju said, “This is not a sick man. Look at his conduct. He doesn’t even look remotely sick.” Hariharan said, “I (Kejriwal) was granted interim bail for the purpose of campaigning. Even in this medical condition, I took part in the campaign. Had I not campaigned, the agency would have said I did not fulfil the purpose for which I was granted bail.” Calling the bail plea a “luxury plea”, Mehta said Kejriwal was “no more or no less than a regular inmate” and he shouldn’t play with the system. The court reserved for June 5 its order on the interim bail plea.
