NEW DELHI, 27 May: Ahead of his scheduled return to jail on 2 June, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has moved the Supreme Court, seeking extension of his interim bail by seven more days on grounds that he has to undergo some medical tests, including a PET-CT scan.
The top court had on 10 May granted a 21-day interim bail to the chief minister, who was arrested in a money laundering case linked to the excise policy scam, to enable him to campaign for the Lok Sabha polls.
It had directed that Kejriwal shall surrender on 2 June, a day after the last phase of the seven-phase poll gets over.
The chief minister, in his fresh plea filed on 26 May, has sought extension of the interim bail by seven more days on
health grounds, including that he has lost 1 kgs and that his ketone levels are “too high,” a possible indicator of a serious ailment.
The plea said that the chief minister is required to undergo some medical tests, including a PET-CT scan, and that the interim bail, which is ending on 1 June, be extended. PET-CT scan shows detailed pictures of organs and tissues.
While setting him free for campaigning in the remaining phases of the Lok Sabha elections after 50 days of custody in the case, the court had barred him from visiting his office or the Delhi secretariat, and signing official files unless absolutely necessary for obtaining the lieutenant governor’s approval.
While imposing strong bail conditions on Kejriwal, the apex court had directed him to furnish a bail bond of Rs 50,000 with one surety of the like amount to the satisfaction of the jail superintendent.
A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta had rejected the argument of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) counsel that enlarging Kejriwal on interim bail to campaign in the elections would be without a precedent.
The matter relates to alleged corruption and money laundering in the formulation and execution of the Delhi government’s now-scrapped excise policy for 2021-22. The ED on 20 October last year had sent first summons to Kejriwal in the money laundering case for appearance on 2 November, 2023. Several summons were also issued subsequently.
On 21 March, the Delhi High Court refused to grant him protection from arrest on his petition challenging summonses issued to him. The ED arrested Kejriwal shortly after that. (PTI)
