AAP to move SC against stay on Arvind Kejriwal bail in excise case

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Tuesday said it disagrees with the Delhi High Court order staying the bail granted to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal by the trial court and will challenge it in the Supreme Court.

The Delhi High Court earlier in the day stayed the trial court order granting bail to Kejriwal in the money laundering case stemming from the alleged excise policy scam in Delhi.

A vacation bench of Justice Sudhir Kumar Jain said the trial court failed to appreciate the material placed before it by the Enforcement Directorate and did not apply its mind while deciding the AAP leader's bail plea.

The judge also said the trial court ought to have given adequate opportunity to the agency to argue its case.

Reacting to the development, the AAP said they will approach the apex court.

"We disagree with the Delhi High Court order. We will challenge it in the Supreme Court," the party said.

The trial court had granted bail to Kejriwal on June 20 and ordered his release on a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh.

The ED moved the high court the next day and contended that the trial court's order was "perverse", "one-sided" and "wrong-sided" and that the findings were based on irrelevant facts.

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 the licence holders.