Delhi court extends Kejriwal's judicial custody till May 20, bail plea pending before SC

A Delhi court on Tuesday extended Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's judicial custody till May 20, in a money-laundering case linked to the alleged excise policy scam.

Special Judge for CBI and ED Kaveri Baweja extended Kejriwal's custody till May 20 after the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader was produced before the court through a video-conference on the expiry of his custody granted earlier.

The judge also extended the judicial custody of co-accused Chanpreet Singh till May 20.

The custody was extended on the same day the Supreme Court said it was willing to consider an interim bail for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP ) leader, to allow him to campaign for the ongoing Lok Sabha election.

The Bench noted that Kejriwal is the "elected Chief Minister" of Delhi, which will to to polls in a single phase on May 25. "There are elections... these are extraordinary circumstances and he is not a habitual offender," the apex court said.

However, the Supreme Court said the Delhi CM would not be allowed to perform official duties if released.

"We make it clear, we don't want you to be performing official duties if we release you... We don't want any interference in functioning of government," the court said.

The Supreme Court is yet to pronounce its decision on Kejriwal's interim bail plea.

(With inputs from PTI)

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