NEW DELHI: A city court on Saturday reserved for June 5 its order on Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s plea seeking an extension of his interim bail in the liquor scam case. With no relief from the court, Kejriwal will return to Tihar jail on Sunday after his interim bail period ended on June 1. A two-judge bench led by Justice Sanjiv Khanna, in its May 10 order, directed the CM to surrender on June 2.
Special judge Kaveri Baweja of the Rouse Avenue Court, who had sought the ED’s response on Thursday, reserved the order for Wednesday (June 5).
Vehemently opposing Kejriwal’s plea, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the ED, said that the CM did not explain why he did not go for a test.
Kejriwal has filed two separate petitions before the trial court. While his first plea sought regular bail, the second sought interim bail for seven days on medical/health grounds. His regular bail plea is scheduled for hearing on June 7.
Pleading for not extending his bail, Mehta stated that Kejriwal’s weight has remained constant. “He is lying about experiencing health problems. His claim that he has lost 5-6 kgs of weight is incorrect. He has gained 1 kg,” he told the court.
Mehta said that Kejriwal on Friday declared that he would surrender on June 2. “Is he taking a chance and then surrendering? I want to ask if his statement is genuine. We have preliminary objections. False statements have been made about his health; there is suppression. We have objections to the filing of interim bail as well. This court cannot modify the Supreme Court order,” he said.
Additional Solicitor General S V Raju said that a person feigning sickness, concocting reason, can’t be granted interim bail.