July 17, 2026

Interim Bail For Kejriwal: Huge Boost For The Opposition

By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2024-05-10 14:06:50

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Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator. Author of Cyber Scams in India, Digital Arrest, The Money Trap and The Human Hack

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In a huge relief for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) ahead of the remaining phases of the Lok Sabha elections, the Supreme Court granted interim bail to party chief Arvind Kejriwal who was arrested by the Enforcement Department (ED) on March 21 in the liquor excise scam case after he ignored multiple summons from the agency to appear before it for questioning. The apex court rejected his appeal to extend the bail till the counting of votes for the elections was over on June 4 and asked him to surrender to jail authorities on June 2, after the last round of voting. The court has also directed him not to visit the office of the Delhi chief minister.

ED had argued that campaigning for elections was not a fundamental right and Kejriwal should not be given bail for that purpose. But the court thought otherwise. Saying that Kejriwal does not have criminal antecedents and is not a threat to society, the court said that 21 days would not make a difference and set him free, with conditions, till June 1. This comes as a boost for the campaign of AAP and the opposition alliance as Kejriwal is a star campaigner and draws huge crowd wherever he goes. He is also a fierce critic of PM Modi and the BJP and will now be doubly fired up after his stint in jail.

The Tihar jail authorities completed the formalities in quick time and Kejriwal walked free on Friday evening itself. He was greeted by enthusiastic party supporters and an army of media persons. Although AAP leader and Delhi mayor Shelly Oberoi said "truth has won", the case against Kejriwal will proceed unhindered and he has only been granted bail for the elections. During the hearings, the Supreme Court had pointedly asked the ED about the urgency to arrest him before the elections, giving a hint that it might grant him interim bail. Kejriwal will hold a press conference at AAP headquarters in Delhi at 1pm on Saturday.