New Delhi: Observing that the Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal did not violate his bail conditions while delivering a speech, the Supreme Court junked a plea by the Enforcement Directorate against the Aam Aadmi Party national convenor, NDTV reported.
Kejriwal spoke in a poll rally that if the people of Delhi vote for AAP in the Lok Sabha polls in the national capital next week, he will not have to go to jail again.
The top court told the central probe agency, which, along with other agencies, had been hunting Kejriwal and his party colleagues for a long, that Kejriwal's comments constituted his personal opinion. It said that it was the Delhi CM's assumption, and the court could not say anything.
"Our order (on the Chief Minister returning to jail on June 2) is clear. That is the decision of this court (and) we will be governed by the rule of law..." NDTV courted the apex court.
Further, the court- which had heard the ED's arguments of possible precedence of arrested political leaders receiving bail to campaign during elections- emphasised that it had not made any exceptions.
It said that it welcome criticism of its decision but "will not go into the issue".
"Our order is clear... we have set the dates... also given reasons for granting interim bail," NDTV quoted the court. It refused the probe agency's request to revoke the bail granted to Kerjiwal and order the CM to go to jail.
It was Solicitor General Tushar Mehta who strongly argued earlier against Kejriwal, demanding the CM be sent back to jail. He claimed that Kejriwal clearly violated the conditions set by the court, and it was a slap in the face of the judiciary.