The Delhi High Court on Tuesday stayed the trial court’s order granting bail to AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal in the money laundering case stemming from the excise policy scam.
The High Court which had earlier reserved its order on the matter pronounced its verdict allowing the Directorate of Enforcement’s plea seeking stay on the order granted by the trial court on June 20.
The HC judge said the trial court did not fully consider the material submitted by the anti- money laundering agency, and also did not give adequate opportunity to the ED to argue its case.
“The vacation bench judge, while passing the impugned order, did not appropriately appreciate the material/documents submitted on record and pleas taken by ED and the averments/grounds as raised in the petition under section 439(2) of the Code require serious consideration while dealing with said petition. Accordingly, the present application is allowed and the operation of the Impugned Order is stayed,” the Court said.
The Court had fixed the main matter for July, where the federal probe agency had challenged the order by trial granting regular bail to Delhi CM in the (now scrapped) Delhi excise policy linked money laundering case.
On Monday, ED had filed written submissions before court, against any relief to Delhi CM in the case.
The federal anti-money laundering agency opposed the order by the trial court granting bail to the AAP chief, calling it perverse.
Meanwhile, Advocate Rishikesh Kumar, counsel for Kejriwal while talking to a news agency said, “We have already challenged the interim stay in the Supreme Court. Today’s judgment is on the same lines, so because we have already challenged the interim stay in the Supreme Court, the challenge of which is listed for tomorrow, today we are filing an application with a copy of this order in the Supreme Court that it should be considered….”
Meanwhile, the Aam Aadmi Party has said that it does not agree with HC’s order.
Speaking to a news agency, AAP’s chief national spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar has said that the party’s legal team is looking into the matter.