A Delhi court on Thursday granted bail to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the money-laundering case linked to the liquor policy case, Live Law reported.
The order was passed by Vacation Judge Nyay Bindu of Rouse Avenue Courts after reserving it earlier in the day.
After the order was pronounced, the Enforcement Directorate requested the court to give it 48 hours to sign the bail bond and challenge the bail before the appellate court, Bar and Bench reported. The judge, however, refused to stay the order.
The court ordered the bail bond to be produced before the duty judge on Friday.
The Aam Aadmi Party chief had surrendered at the Tihar jail on June 2 after his 21-day interim bail period ended. The Supreme Court had granted the Opposition leader bail on May 10 in the liquor policy case to allow him to campaign for the Lok Sabha elections. He was arrested by the central law enforcement agency on March 21.
The Enforcement Directorate is investigating allegations of money laundering in the liquor policy case based on a first information report filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation.
The two central agencies have alleged that the Aam Aadmi Party government modified Delhi’s now-scrapped liquor policy by increasing the commission for wholesalers from 5% to 12%. This allegedly facilitated the receipt of bribes from wholesalers who had a substantial market share and turnover.
The Enforcement Directorate has alleged that Kejriwal was the “kingpin” and the “key conspirator” in the case and the material evidence showed that he was guilty of money laundering.
In a supplementary chargesheet filed in May, the Enforcement Directorate also named the Aam Aadmi Party as an accused in the case.
Kejriwal and the Aam Aadmi Party have denied the allegations.
Former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh are other party leaders arrested in the case. While Singh got bail in early April, Sisodia is still in jail.
Also read: Why the courts have denied bail to Aam Aadmi Party leaders, despite weak evidence
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