Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday told the Supreme Court that he will file a fresh plea challenging the High Court order staying the regular bail granted to him in the excise policy case.

Permitting Kejriwal to file a fresh plea challenging the June 25 High Court order, a vacation bench of Justice Manoj Misra and Justice S V N Bhatti permitted the incarcerated Chief Minister to withdraw his plea in which he had challenged the June 21 interim order of the High Court staying the grant of bail.

Telling the vacation bench that events were overtaking them, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi said he will file a fresh petition challenging the June 25 final order of the High Court by which it has stayed the Special PMLA court’s June 20, order granting regular bail to Kejriwal.

Singhvi also told the bench that the CBI too has arrested Kejriwal today (Tuesday – June 26) in connection with the criminality aspect of the Delhi Excise Policy case.

On June 21, the High Court had ordered an interim stay of the bail granted to Kejriwal by a Special PMLA court on the previous day. On June 21 itself after hearing Additional Solicitor General S.V. Raju appeared for Directorate of Enforcement and Abhishek Manu Singhvi, the High Court had reserved its order which was pronounced yesterday – June 25, 2024.

Earlier on June 24, the top court adjourned the hearing on challenge to the interim order and posted it for June 26 to await the High court judgment on ED’s challenge to PMLA Court granting bail to Kejriwal. However, the top court had observed that the decision of the High Court granting interim stay on Kejriwal’s bail without passing a final order in the matter, was “unusual”.

On June 25, the High Court passed its final order and continued the stay on Kejriwal’s release from jail. The High Court said that the vacation judge of the PMLA court passed the bail order without going through ED’s entire material, which reflects “perversity” in it.

The High Court in its final order has noted that the observation made by the vacation judge while granting bail to Kejriwal was “uncalled for, unwarranted and out of context.”