SC: Kejri not convicted, has no criminal antecedents [Front Page]

• Published in: The Times of India (Online)
• Main Authors: Given interim bail by Supreme Court solely for the purpose of elections Kejriwal is losing no time in hitting the campaign trail He will participate in a roadshow in south Delhi on Saturday along with his Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Mann Kejriwal draws big crowds to his public events, will be the star campaigner for his party In his absence the partys Delhi state convener Gopal Rai, cabinet colleagues Saurabh Bharadwaj, Atishi had stepped in His wife Sunitas roadshows were drawing crowds but couldnt compare with Kejriwals chemistry with audiences Between 650700 million voters out of an electorate of about 970 million will cast their votes to elect the government of this country for the next five years General elections supply the vis viva living force to a democracy Given the prodigious importance we reject the argument raised on behalf of the prosecution that grant of interim bailrelease on this account would mean placing the politicians in a benefic position compared to ordinary citizens of this country While examining the question of grant of interim bailrelease the courts always take into consideration the peculiarities associated with the person in question, the surrounding circumstances In fact to ignore the same would be iniquitous, wrong the bench saidSolicitor general Tushar Mehta said it would set a wrong precedent, all jailed politicians would start seeking the same relief in election season He said Waris Punjab De chief Amritpal Singh the radical preacher who has been advocating separatism has also approached the court for bailThe bench however held that the two cases could not be compared It said power to grant interim bail was exercised in a number of cases, this case was not an exception It referred to the bail granted by Andhra Pradesh high court to TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu in a graft case, said the former Andhra CM was allowed to engage in political activities while he was on bailThe court also referred to various orders of the apex court which granted politicians relief, allowed them to indulge in political activities after coming out of jail It quoted the recent SC order in Siba Shankar Das case which had quashed a condition imposed by HC which had barred him from getting involved in any political activities The court had said imposition of such conditions would breach fundamental rightsThe prosecution has rightly pointed out that the appellant Arvind Kejriwal had failed to appear in spite of nine noticessummons first of which was issued in October 2023 This is a negative factor but there are several other facets which we are required to take into consideration The appellant is the chief minister of Delhi, a leader of one of the national parties No doubt serious accusations have been made but he has not been convicted He does not have any criminal antecedents He is not a threat to society said the benchThe investigation in the present case has remained pending since August 2022 Arvind Kejriwal was arrested as noted above on March 21 2024 More importantly the legality, validity of the arrest itself is under challenge before this court, we are yet to finally pronounce on the same The situation cannot be compared with harvesting of crops or a plea to look after business affairs In this background once the matter is subjudice, the questions relating to legality of arrest are under consideration a more holistic, libertarian view is justified in the background that the 18th Lok Sabha elections are being held the bench said
• Format: Newspaper Article
• Language: English
• Published: New Delhi Bennett, Coleman & Company Limited 11.05.2024
• Subjects: Kejriwal, Arvind; Politicians; Politics