New Delhi, The Delhi High Court on Wednesday listed for July 15 the Enforcement Directorate's plea challenging the bail granted to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the money laundering case arising out of the alleged excise scam .
The top court had earlier stayed the trial court's June 20 order granting bail to Kejriwal in the case.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) lawyer informed Justice Neena Bansal Krishna, who was scheduled to hear the plea, that they received Kejriwal's response to their petition on Tuesday night and the agency needs some time to file a replica.
While the probe agency's lawyer claimed that the copy of the reply was given to them at 11 pm on Tuesday, Kejriwal's lawyer maintained that he handed it over to the investigating officer (IO) of the case at 1 pm. late.
Senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for Kejriwal, mentioned the matter before the court and said a specific time would be fixed for hearing as the case is of extreme urgency.
However, Additional Solicitor General S V Raju, appearing for the ED, stated that the agency received the copy of Kejriwal's reply only on Tuesday evening and they need some time to review the reply and submit their reply to him.
He maintained that the documents are supposed to be given to the lawyer appearing in the case and not to the IO.
Opposing the agency's argument, Kejriwal's lawyer urged the court to hear the matter on the same day and alleged that the ED wanted to prolong the case.
However, the court said it is not in dispute that the ED received the copy of the reply on Tuesday and the agency was entitled to submit a rejoinder to it. The court granted time to the ED to file its rejoinder and posted the matter for hearing on July 15.
On June 20, a trial court granted Kejriwal bail on a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh.
The ED moved the high court the next day and held that the trial court's order was "perverse", "one-sided" and "misguided" and that the findings were based on irrelevant facts.
On June 21, the high court imposed an interim stay on the trial court's bail order until an order on ED's interim relief application was passed. It issued a notice and asked Kejriwal to file a reply to the ED petition.
On June 25, the high court passed a detailed order staying the trial court's order granting bail to Kejriwal.
Kejriwal was arrested by the ED and CBI on March 21 and June 26 respectively in the money laundering and corruption cases.
The excise policy was scrapped in 2022 after Delhi's lieutenant governor ordered a CBI probe into alleged irregularities and corruption related to its formulation and execution.
According to the CBI and ED, irregularities were committed while modifying the excise policy and undue favors were extended to license holders.
The top court had earlier stayed the trial court's June 20 order granting bail to Kejriwal in the case.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) lawyer informed Justice Neena Bansal Krishna, who was scheduled to hear the plea, that they received Kejriwal's response to their petition on Tuesday night and the agency needs some time to file a replica.
While the probe agency's lawyer claimed that the copy of the reply was given to them at 11 pm on Tuesday, Kejriwal's lawyer maintained that he handed it over to the investigating officer (IO) of the case at 1 pm. late.
Senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for Kejriwal, mentioned the matter before the court and said a specific time would be fixed for hearing as the case is of extreme urgency.
However, Additional Solicitor General S V Raju, appearing for the ED, stated that the agency received the copy of Kejriwal's reply only on Tuesday evening and they need some time to review the reply and submit their reply to him.
He maintained that the documents are supposed to be given to the lawyer appearing in the case and not to the IO.
Opposing the agency's argument, Kejriwal's lawyer urged the court to hear the matter on the same day and alleged that the ED wanted to prolong the case.
However, the court said it is not in dispute that the ED received the copy of the reply on Tuesday and the agency was entitled to submit a rejoinder to it. The court granted time to the ED to file its rejoinder and posted the matter for hearing on July 15.
On June 20, a trial court granted Kejriwal bail on a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh.
The ED moved the high court the next day and held that the trial court's order was "perverse", "one-sided" and "misguided" and that the findings were based on irrelevant facts.
On June 21, the high court imposed an interim stay on the trial court's bail order until an order on ED's interim relief application was passed. It issued a notice and asked Kejriwal to file a reply to the ED petition.
On June 25, the high court passed a detailed order staying the trial court's order granting bail to Kejriwal.
Kejriwal was arrested by the ED and CBI on March 21 and June 26 respectively in the money laundering and corruption cases.
The excise policy was scrapped in 2022 after Delhi's lieutenant governor ordered a CBI probe into alleged irregularities and corruption related to its formulation and execution.
According to the CBI and ED, irregularities were committed while modifying the excise policy and undue favors were extended to license holders.
