New Delhi: Ahead of his scheduled return to jail June 2, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has moved the Supreme Court seeking extension of his interim bail by seven more days on grounds that he has to undergo some medical tests, including a PET-CT scan.
The top court had May 10 granted 21-day interim bail to the chief minister, who was arrested in a money laundering case linked to the excise policy scam, to enable him to campaign for the Lok Sabha polls.
It had directed that Kejriwal would surrender June 2, a day after the last phase of the seven-phase poll gets over.
The chief minister, in his fresh plea filed May 26, has sought an extension of the interim bail by seven more days on health grounds, including that he has lost seven kgs and that his ketone levels are “too high”, a possible indicator of a serious ailment.
The plea said the chief minister is required to undergo some medical tests including a PET-CT scan, and that the interim bail, which is ending on June 1, be extended. PET-CT scan shows detailed pictures of organs and tissues.
While setting him free for campaigning in the remaining phases of the Lok Sabha elections after 50 days of custody in the case, the court had barred him from visiting his office or the Delhi secretariat and signing official files unless absolutely necessary for obtaining the lieutenant governor’s approval.
While imposing strong of bail conditions on Kejriwal, the apex court had directed him to furnish bail bonds of Rs 50,000 with one surety of the like amount to the satisfaction of the jail superintendent.
A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta had rejected the argument of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) counsel that enlarging Kejriwal on interim bail to campaign in the elections will be without a precedent.
The matter 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 Enforcement Directorate, October 30, last year, had sent first summons to Kejriwal in the money laundering case for appearance November 2, 2023. Several summons were also issued subsequently.
March 21, the Delhi High Court refused to grant him protection from arrest on his petition challenging summonses issued to him. The ED arrested Kejriwal shortly after that.
PTI
