Supreme Court refuses urgent hearing of Kejriwal’s bail extension plea
On Tuesday, a vacation bench of the Supreme Court refused to hear Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s bail extension application and referred the case to Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud for further instructions on the petition’s scheduling for hearing.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supremo has requested a seven-day extension to his interim bail, which is supposed to expire on June 1 due to medical reasons.
On May 10, the Supreme Court ordered the release of Kejriwal, who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on March 21 in connection with the liquor policy case, after it granted his interim bail request to campaign for the Lok Sabha elections.
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The bench of Justices JK Maheshwari and KV Vishwanathan refused to hear senior attorney Abhishek Manu Singhvi’s urgent request for an extension for Kejriwal to undertake some medical tests.
What Kejriwal’s lawyer said?
“This (plea) has been heard and reserved… Let this be placed before the Chief Justice and let him take a call. We will place it before the Chief Justice,” it said in reply.
Singhvi also said that the plea was moved after doctors conducted medical tests on the AAP chief.
When the bench inquired why this was not stated when the Supreme Court approved Kejriwal’s temporary bail, his counsel responded, “Some medical tests were performed, and a report was filed. That is why it required some time to file the bail extension request of only seven days.”
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What Kejriwal said in his bail extension plea?
In his bail extension plea, Kejriwal said, “Unexplained weight loss is a sign of life-threatening conditions. My health condition is partly due to the correctional authorities’ harsh behavior. Another week on bond will allow me to assess the extent of my health difficulties.”
The Delhi Chief Minister maintained that he has solely used his interim bail for campaigning, which has required him to travel throughout Delhi and across India in a very short period of time.
As a result, despite his severe health difficulties, he barely had time to have a health check-up at home with a senior physician from Max Hospitals.
According to his plea, in light of his health issues and increasing risk indicators, the senior doctor has prescribed a battery of medical tests that must be completed before he surrenders for further incarceration.
