A Delhi court has issued a notice to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) regarding Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s plea for regular bail in a money laundering case connected to an alleged excise ‘scam’ case.
Special Judge Kaveri Baweja instructed the central probe agency to respond to Kejriwal’s plea by Saturday and scheduled the matter for June 7 after the ED requested additional time.
Kejriwal, currently on interim bail until June 1 granted by the Supreme Court, also filed a separate plea seeking interim bail for a week on medical grounds, which the judge asked the ED to respond to by Saturday as well.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court registry declined urgent listing of Kejriwal’s plea seeking an extension of his interim bail by seven days for medical tests, stating that since he had the option to seek regular bail from the trial court, the plea was not maintainable.
Kejriwal, citing sudden weight loss and high ketone levels, indicative of serious health issues, requested a seven-day extension for medical tests, including a PET-CT scan. He aims to surrender to Tihar jail authorities on June 9 instead of the initially scheduled June 2 return date.
Earlier, the Supreme Court had granted Kejriwal a 21-day interim bail for campaigning during the Lok Sabha polls, with instructions to surrender on June 2, a day after the final phase of polling.
The case pertains to alleged corruption and money laundering in the formulation and execution of the Delhi government’s now-revoked excise policy for 2021-22.