The Delhi High Court will pronounce its verdict on June 25 on the Enforcement Directorate’s plea challenging the bail granted to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the excise policy case.
The Vacation Bench of the High Court, on June 21, reserved its order on the ED plea in order to go through the entire records.
The ED had moved an urgent plea before the High Court challenging the trial court’s bail order, which was passed late on June 20. Additional Solicitor General (ASG) S.V. Raju, representing the ED, had contended that the agency was not given adequate opportunity by the trial court to argue its case
On the other hand, senior advocates Abhishek Singhvi and Vikram Chaudhari, representing Mr. Kejriwal, urged the High Court not to stay the bail order; they instead suggested that the court send him back to jail if it found overwhelming and cogent circumstances.
Presenting his case before the High Court, Mr. Raju said, “Material facts were not considered by the trial court. There cannot be a better case for cancellation of bail than this one. There cannot be greater perversity than this.”
“I was not allowed to argue fully. I was not given proper time of two to three days to file written submissions. This is not done. On merits, I have an excellent case. The trial court said ‘finish off in half an hour’ as it wanted to deliver the judgment. It did not give us full opportunity to argue the case,” he said.
“I am making the allegations with full seriousness,” Mr. Raju said, adding that he was denied the opportunity to present his case, as provided by Section 45 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
