The Delhi High Court imposed Rs 75,000 costs on a petitioner who sought an extraordinary interim bail for Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in all criminal cases registered against him. The Court dismissed the plea and observed law is equal for everyone.
A division bench of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora rejected the extraordinary bail plea filed by petitioner ‘We the people of India’ and observed the PIL was filed without any basis, Bar and Bench reported. The bench observed the petitioner did not have any authorisation from Kejriwal to file such a plea nor to make statements like the Delhi CM would not influence witnesses.
“This court cannot grant extraordinary interim bail in a pending criminal case initiated against a person holding high office. Someone is in custody by virtue of the judicial order of the court. The challenge is presently before the Supreme Court. He is taking steps and using remedies. Law is equal for anyone,” the bench observed while rejecting the plea. Kejriwal’s lawyer Rahul Mehra also opposed the plea and said it was moved seeking publicity.
The Enforcement Directorate arrested Kejriwal on March 21 in a money laundering case registered in connection with the alleged liquor policy scam. He has been lodged in Tihar jail since April 1.
-with inputs from agencies
