India court stays bail granted to opposition leader in money laundering case News
RAJINDER PAL SINGH BRAR, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
India court stays bail granted to opposition leader in money laundering case

India’s Delhi High Court stayed Friday the bail granted to opposition leader and chief minister of Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal. A lower trial court granted Kejriwal bail in a money laundering case against him and his party associates filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), India’s financial crime investigation agency.

The High Court recorded a verbal order stating the final order was reserved for two to three days. Consequently, the court stayed the trial court order granting bail to Kejriwal until the final order’s pronouncement.

Sanjeev Nasiar, legal cell state president of Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), commented on the high court decision while talking to news agency ANI. He added, “ED’s intention is that the relief that has been granted should not be executed in any way. By Monday or Tuesday, the court will give its order on the stay application and as per that order, it will be decided when Arvind Kejriwal will come out.”

Arvind Kejriwal was arrested by the ED on March 22, 2024, in a case involving the Delhi liquor policy scam. Kejriwal was accused of money laundering through the New Delhi Excise Policy, which aimed to increase revenue and curb alcohol counterfeiting. The policy was repealed in August 2022 due to criticism regarding procedural irregularities. The arrest was related to an ED investigation that accused Kejriwal and other AAP party leaders of money laundering under the policy. The ED claimed the policy was introduced to give undue advantages to private sellers, who gave monetary benefits to party leaders in return.

AAP officials have started protests against the stay on Kejriwal’s bail, including an indefinite hunger strike by Delhi’s minister of water and member of AAP, Atishi Marlena.

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