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The court in New Delhi has reserved its order till June 5 on Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's interim bail plea on medical grounds. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has opposed the plea, saying that Kejriwal campaigned throughout the Lok Sabha elections but "now when he has to surrender, he suddenly claims to be ill."
Kejriwal's interim bail granted by the Supreme Court in an excise policy-linked money laundering case expired on June 1. He has to surrender on Sunday at the Tihar jail.
The ED, which is probing the case, made the submission before Special Judge Kaveri Baweja who reserved the order on Kejriwal's plea for June 5. The case relates to alleged corruption and money laundering in the formulation and execution of the Delhi government's now-scrapped excise policy for 2021-22.
The judge observed that the application was for grant of interim bail on medical grounds and not for the extension of the interim bail granted by the Supreme Court.
The top court had on May 10 granted 21-day interim bail to the chief minister to enable him to campaign during the Lok Sabha polls. It had directed him to surrender on June 2, a day after the last phase of the seven-phase poll gets over.
Kejriwal campaigned in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Delhi and Maharashtra after being released from the Tihar jail.
After the judge reserved the order, Kejriwal's counsel urged the court to pass the order on Saturday itself, considering that he has to surrender on Sunday.
The judge, however, declined the request, saying the arguments and the documents submitted by the advocates of the accused as well as the prosecution were voluminous.
During the proceedings, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the ED, told the court that Kejriwal made misleading claims at a press conference on Friday that he would surrender on June 2 on his own.
At a press conference here on Friday, Kejriwal said he will be surrendering on June 2. "I will leave my house around 3 pm to surrender. It is possible that this time they will torture me more, but I will not bow down," he said.
Kejriwal had also alleged, "They tried to break me. They stopped my medicines while I was in jail. My weight reduced by six kg after being arrested. My weight was 70 kg when I was arrested. I have not gained weight after coming out of jail."
Doctors have advised several tests and "they feel this could be a sign of some underlying medical condition", he had claimed.
The ED's counsel said in court, "Kejriwal campaigned throughout his interim bail period and now he suddenly claims he is ill. Kejriwal suppressed facts and made false statements, including about his health."
Kejriwal's counsel told the court that he was ill and needed treatment.
The ED said the interim bail is not maintainable as the trial court cannot modify the order of the Supreme Court mandating Kejriwal to surrender on June 2.
Seeking the relief, Kejriwal's counsel told the court that despite his ill health, the A leader campaigned because that was the purpose for which the interim bail was granted by the Supreme Court.
The court has, meanwhile sought ED's response by June 7 on Kejriwal's another application seeking regular bail in the case.
Source: Excise policy case: Court reserves for June 5 order on Kejriwal's interim bail