SC order granting interim bail to Kejriwal not victory for AAP: BJP

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court granting interim bail to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is not a victory for the AAP as the court has put its "seal of approval" on him being guilty in the excise policy case, the BJP claimed on Friday.

Kejriwal -- the national convenor of the AAP -- had petitioned the apex court not for bail but for adjudication that his arrest was illegal, BJP MP Bansuri Swaraj told a press conference here.

"The Supreme Court did not provide any relief on this prayer by him, rather it found that the ED (Enforcement Directorate) has sufficient evidence to prove the requirement of Section 19 of the PMLA that an accused is prima facie guilty. This is seal of approval by the Supreme Court," she said.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders at a press conference hailed the Supreme Court order calling it a victory of truth and accused the BJP of conspiring to put Kejriwal in jail in the "fake" excise policy case.

The party had posted on X "satyamev jayate (truth alone triumphs)" after the court on Friday granted the interim bail to Kejriwal in the alleged excise policy scam being probed for money laundering by the ED.

The chief minister, however, will remain in jail as the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had arrested him in a corruption case related to the alleged scam while he was in ED custody.

Swaraj alleged that the AAP was "misleading" the people and the media.

"The (Supreme Court) order is not a victory for Kejriwal rather the court has put a stamp on the charge that he is guilty in the excise policy case and the ED has sufficient proof of it," the New Delhi MP claimed.

The interim bail granted to Kejriwal is because a point of law was referred to a larger bench of the Supreme Court and it takes time in the hearing of something referred to a larger bench, she said.

Swaraj claimed that a few days back, the ED submitted a detailed charge-sheet in a trial court in which Whatsapp chats and other evidence showed that the chief minister is the "kingpin" of the "liquor scam" and he has "close relations" with the co-accused in the case.

"It also showed that AAP convenor Kejriwal took Rs 100 crore in 'kickbacks' in the liquor scam out of which Rs 45 crore was used by the AAP in the Goa assembly polls. As a result, the AAP became the first political party in the history of the country to be named as an accused in a charge-sheet of a corruption case," she said.

The Supreme Court has also hinted that whenever a constitutional functionary is involved in such an offence of corruption, the person should resign from his post, the BJP leader claimed.

But Kejriwal is attracted to power that he is not ready to step down from the chief minister's post, Swaraj alleged.

While granting the bail to Kejriwal, the Supreme Court said it is up to Kejriwal to decide if he should continue as chief minister.

"We are conscious of the fact that Arvind Kejriwal is an elected leader," a bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta said while also noting that Kejriwal has suffered incarceration for over 90 days.