The Delhi High Court, in its final decision regarding the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) appeal, suspended a trial court's order that had granted bail to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
Justice Sudhir Jain remarked that the trial court had not properly evaluated the documents and arguments presented.
Earlier, on June 20, a Delhi court had granted bail to the Chief Minister in connection with a money laundering case linked to the now-revoked excise policy.
In response, the ED approached the high court, which then stayed the bail order pending the final judgment.
In his final ruling, Justice Jain stated that the trial court's vacation bench failed to thoroughly consider the material evidence and should have provided the ED with an equal chance to argue against the bail application.
He mentioned that other arguments will be examined by the roster bench.
The ED had requested a 48-hour delay in executing the bail bond following the order's pronouncement. However, the trial court firmly rejected the ED's plea for a stay.
The ED's plea was urgently brought before a vacation bench consisting of Justices Sudhir Kumar Jain and Ravinder Dudeja by Additional Solicitor General S.V. Raju, representing the ED.
"I am moving for an urgent stay. The order was pronounced yesterday at 8 p.m. The order is not uploaded. We were not given a clear opportunity to oppose bail, " he had argued.
ASG Raju further expressed that his request for a stay on the bail order was not even considered. "I am demanding that the order be stayed and the matter be heard as soon as possible. We were denied the full opportunity to argue the case. I am making allegations with full seriousness, " he stated.
Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing CM Kejriwal, opposed the stay request, citing legal precedents. "There are 10 Supreme Court judgments that cancellation of bail is radically different from grant of bail, " he contended.
After listening to arguments from both sides, the high court ruled that the bail order should not be executed until the matter is fully heard. "The bail order will not be given effect. We have not passed the final order. You may argue as much as you can, " the bench declared, effectively halting CM Kejriwal's release.
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