The Supreme Court of India on Friday released Chief Minister of Delhi Arvind Kejriwal on temporary bail, citing ongoing elections as an ‘extraordinary’ circumstance. The interim bail will end on June 1 when the final rounds of the ongoing Lok Sabha elections conclude in India.

While agreeing to the bail appeal made by the Delhi chief minister, the court iterated the importance of the ongoing general elections for Indian democracy. The bench stated:

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 appellant Arvind 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 the society.

Arvind Kejriwal was arrested on March 22 by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in an infamous Delhi liquor policy scam case. Kejriwal was accused of money laundering through the now-repealed New Delhi Excise Policy brought by his government. The policy sought to revolutionize the liquor landscape in the national capital of the country by maximizing the revenue gain of the state and curtailing the counterfeiting of alcohol. The policy was repealed on August 1, 2022, less than a year after its enforcement, due to heavy criticism of “procedural irregularities.”

The arrest of Kejriwal was related to the investigation run by the ED that accused Kejriwal and other prominent leaders of his political party, the Aam Admi Party (AAP), of being involved in money laundering under the liquor policy brought by his government. According to the ED, the policy was introduced to give undue advantages to the private sellers, who gave monetary benefits to party leaders including Kejriwal in return.

The arrest was made after Kejriwal did not obey the ninth summon issued to him in the case according to the ED. Kejriwal and his state-ruling government declined any such accusation and stated that there has been no evidence against them in the investigation made by the ED.

The ruling central government, the Bhartiya Janta Party, has been put on the radar by the opposition’s claims that the ruling party is defaming and curtailing the opposition and its leaders. The government of current Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been accused of crushing the independence of investigation agencies, including the ED, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Election Commission of India, to make political gains.

The polling for the Delhi Lok Sabha elections is to be held on May 25 in all seven constituencies. The Lok Sabha is the lower assembly of the Indian Parliament.