Team News Riveting
New Delhi, May 9
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday opposed the Supreme Court’s suggestion to grant interim bail to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to campaign for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
In an affidavit filed before the Supreme Court, the central agency said that the right to campaign for elections was neither a fundamental, legal nor a constitutional right.
“To the knowledge of the deponent no political leader has been granted interim bail for campaigning even though he is not the contesting candidate. Even a contesting candidate is not granted interim bail if he is in custody for his own campaigning … around 123 elections have taken place in the last 5 years and if interim bail is to be granted for the purpose of campaigning in an election, then no politician can be arrested and kept in judicial custody since elections are all year round,” the ED said in the affidavit.
“Every politician at every level would argue that if he is not let out on interim bail, he would suffer irreversible consequences. Under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act alone presently there are many politicians who are in judicial custody and their cases are examined by competent courts upholding their custody. There must be several political leaders in judicial custody throughout the country in non-PMLA offences. There is no reason why a special prayer for a special treatment by the petitioner be acceded to,” it was submitted.
Kejriwal is currently in Tihar jail after he was arrested by the ED on March 21 in the money laundering case connected to the Delhi excise policy. The Delhi High Court had earlier rejected his plea leading to the appeal before the apex court.
During the hearing of the appeal on May 7, the top court had hinted at granting interim bail to Kejriwal in order to enable him to campaign for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. However, it had also said that if interim bail was granted, Kejriwal would not be allowed to discharge any official duties as Chief Minister.
