SC says no to urgent listing of Kejriwal’s petition

The Supreme Court’s Regis try on Wednesday declined to accept the urgent hear ing request of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s plea for the extension of his interim bail by seven days on medical grounds in the Delhi excise policy case. The apex court registry rejected the application, citing that since Kejriwal had been granted liberty to approach the trial court for regular bail, the plea was not maintainable. On Tuesday, a vacation bench comprising Justices JK Maheshwari and KV Viswanathan acknowl edged the arguments put forth by senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, repre senting the chief minister. They stated that the deci sion on listing the interim plea could be made by the CJI, given that judgment had been reserved in the main matter.

The Delhi chief minister had requested an extension of his interim bail by seven days to undergo various medical tests, including a PET-CT scan. This was prompted by his “sudden and unexplained weight loss coupled with high ketone levels”, indi cating potential kidney issues, serious cardiac ail ments, or even cancer. In his fresh plea filed on May 26, the chief minister stated his intention to sur render before jail authori ties on June 9 instead of the previously scheduled date of June 2. campaigned for AAP can didate in Punjab on Tues day and appeared confi dent of a good show in the state. The top court had granted a 21-day interim bail to the chief minister on May 10 in connection with a money laundering case linked to the excise policy ‘scam’, al lowing him to campaign for the Lok Sabha polls. The court had directed Kejriwal to surrender on June 2, a day after the conclusion of the last phase of the seven phase poll. The case pertains to al leged corruption and money laundering in the formulation and execution of the Delhi government’s now-scrapped excise policy for 2021-22. Meanwhile, Kejriwal “The huge crowd pres ent in the road shows held in Pathankot and Zirakpur even in 45-degree tempera ture is proof that this time the people of Punjab are ready to answer the dicta torship of BJP sitting in the centre with their votes and Aam Aadmi Party is win ning all the 13 seats,” he said. The state of Punjab goes to the polls on June 1 and the election results will be declared on June 4.