Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convenor Arvind Kejriwal, who was granted bail by a Delhi' Rouse Avenue Court in a money laundering case stemming from the alleged excise scam, will walk out of Tihar jail on Friday. His lawyers will submit the bail bond before the court on Friday morning, after which Kejriwal will be released from Tihar jail.
The Delhi chief minister will be released on a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh with conditions, including abstaining from hampering the investigation or influencing the witnesses. The judge also directed Kejriwal to appear before the court whenever required and to cooperate with the investigation.
According to the AAP legal team, the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) had no proof against the party’s leaders and alleged that the case was a conspiracy of the BJP. AAP Legal Cell’s state president Sanjeev Nasiar told ANI after Kejriwal's bail that the ED was working under someone’s pressure.
"Truth has won. This case was false, it was a conspiracy of the BJP party. This is a huge win for the AAP party for the country and all of us. The ED has no proof against any of our leaders and they are working under someone’s pressure. They wanted to finish the political career of Arvind Kejriwal but they failed in this," advocate Sanjeev Nasiar said.
The bail has come as a huge relief for the party as it will add impetus to AAP's stance that there is no case against the party or Kejriwal since Section 45 of the stringent Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) stipulates that bail can be granted only if the judge is prima facie satisfied that the accused has not committed the offence and that he is unlikely to commit any offence while on bail.
Meanwhile, reports hint that the ED will approach the Delhi High Court to challenge the bail order. This comes as the Rouse Avenue Court refused to entertain ED's request to postpone filing the bail bond for 48 hours, reported ANI.
According to the ED and the CBI, the South Group is a cartel of politicians, business people and others who lobbied for liquor licences for which they paid bribes to Delhi's ruling party.
On Wednesday, the ED argued that the fact that the offence of money laundering has been committed is beyond doubt because the court has taken cognisance and it has not been challenged. The ED told the court on Wednesday that when former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia was made an accused in the case, the AAP was not named as an accused.
"Kejriwal demanded a bribe. He asked for a bribe of Rs 100 crore. Kejriwal asked for funds for the AAP. Kejriwal demanded kickbacks from South Group. You can't say he is not guilty of an offence. If AAP commits a crime, then every person in charge of the party will be deemed to be guilty," the ED told Special Judge Niyay Bindu.
"Demand (for bribe) is established. The money has gone to Goa. It has gone to hawala dealers. We have recorded statements. A larger chunk of the amount was paid in cash is also established. The entire trail has been established," the ED asserted while opposing Kejriwal's bail petition.
