Top Indian court grants bail in graft case to Delhi chief minister

By Ahmad Adil

NEW DELHI (AA) – The top Indian court on Friday granted interim bail to Delhi’s Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who was arrested in March by the Enforcement Directorate in a graft case.

A bench of Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta at the Supreme Court passed the order and granted bail to Kejriwal till June 1, and said he will surrender on June 2.

Earlier, the Enforcement Directorate opposed the bail saying that “the right to campaign for an election is neither a fundamental right nor a constitutional right.”

However, the Supreme Court had hinted that it may consider granting Kejriwal interim bail to enable him to campaign in the ongoing general elections.

The seven parliamentary constituencies of the national capital New Delhi will vote in the sixth phase of elections on May 25.

Weeks ahead of the general elections in India, which began on April 19, Kejriwal was arrested on March 21 by the Enforcement Directorate -- the country’s financial crime-fighting agency, in a graft case related to liquor policy.

Since the arrest of Kejriwal, who is a critic of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his Aam Aadmi Party has been protesting continuously.

The opposition parties in India have also criticized the arrest.

After the arrest of Kejriwal, the US and the German Foreign Office made comments about his arrest as well.