Indian court grants bail to Delhi chief minister in excise policy case

NEW DELHI: A local court Thursday granted bail to jailed Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the money laundering case related to the excise policy case.

“Rejecting all objections of Bharatiya Janata Party’s Enforcement Directorate (BJP’s ED), the Hon’ble Court has granted bail to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal,” the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) wrote on social media.

Reports said after the pronouncement of the order Thursday evening, the ED requested whether the signing of the bail bond could be deferred by 48 hours so that the order may be challenged before the appellate court.

However, the judge refused to stay the order. The bail bond will be produced before the duty judge on Friday.

Kejriwal, who is also the AAP’s chief, is likely to come out of jail on Friday as the bail order has to reach the jail first.

Kejriwal was arrested by the ED, the Indian government’s financial crime-fighting agency in March on charges of corruption related to the direct involvement in the formulation of the excise policy favoring specific individuals.

Investigations into the Delhi excise policy case began in August 2022 when India’s premier investigating agency Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) accused the Delhi government of using the policy to favor certain liquor dealers who had allegedly paid bribes. The policy was subsequently scrapped.

Last month India’s top court granted an interim bail to Kejriwal until June 1 in the case to allow him to campaign for his party and the opposition alliance in the country’s general elections. He returned to jail on June 2 after the interim bail period ended.

The AAP has been governing India’s national capital territory for over a decade. It also governs the northern Indian state of Punjab.

-Xinhua