23 August,2024 11:56 AM IST | New Delhi | mid-day online correspondent
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. Pic/PTI
The Supreme Court on Friday deferred till September 5 hearing on Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's pleas seeking bail and challenging the arrest by the CBI in the alleged Delhi excise policy case.
A bench of justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan allowed the CBI to file its counter affidavit in the matter and gave two days' time to Kejriwal to file a rejoinder.
Senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for Arvind Kejriwal, said the CBI filed a counter affidavit in only one of the pleas and it was served upon them at 8 pm on Thursday.
ASG SV Raju said they will file the counter in another plea in one week. The bench then posted the matter for further hearing on September 5.
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On August 14, the top court refused to grant interim bail to Kejriwal in the Delhi excise policy case and sought a response from the probe agency on his plea challenging his arrest. Kejriwal was arrested by the CBI on June 26.
The chief minister, who was arrested by the ED on March 21, was granted bail by the trial court in the money laundering case on June 20. However, the trial court's order was stayed by the high court.
On July 12, the Supreme Court granted him interim bail in the money laundering case.
The excise policy was scrapped in 2022 after the Delhi lieutenant governor ordered a CBI probe into alleged irregularities and corruption involving its formulation and execution.
According to the CBI and the ED, irregularities were committed while modifying the excise policy and undue favours extended to licence holders.
Meanwhile, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Thursday rolled out its 'Kejriwal Aayenge' campaign in the run up to the assembly polls in Delhi next year as it seeks to form the government in the national capital for a third consecutive term.
Hoardings bearing the 'Kejriwal Aayenge' slogan have also been put up across Delhi.
Kejriwal is lodged in Tihar jail in connection with a corruption case linked to the alleged Delhi excise policy case being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
There is a lot of sentiment among the people of Delhi and the country about Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, said AAP national general secretary (organisation) and Rajya Sabha MP Sandeep Pathak.
"The people of Delhi are eagerly waiting for Arvind Kejriwal to come out of jail. Ever since Arvind Kejriwal has gone, many works in Delhi have stopped. The public is confident that all the stalled works in Delhi will be completed and many problems resolved quickly after his release," he added.
Pathak said people understood that the BJP government at the Centre put Kejriwal in jail in a "false case" only to stop the work in Delhi and "upset the people".
(With inputs from PTI)
