SC rejects Arvind Kejriwal's plea for bail extension in Delhi excise policy case

livemint.com:

Arvind Kejriwal's plea seeking a seven-day extension of his interim bail in a money laundering case linked to the Delhi excise policy case. Last month, the top court granted the Delhi CM interim bail to campaign for the Lok Sabha elections 2024 and asked him to surrender on June 2.

The apex court registry refused to accept the application, saying since Kejriwal was given liberty to move the trial court for regular bail, the plea is not maintainable, newswire PTI reported. On Tuesday, the top court questioned Senior Advocate Abhishek Singhvi, representing the chief minister, as to why the Delhi CM's plea was not mentioned when Justice Dipankar Datta, the judge of the main bench, was hearing the case last week.Kejriwal has sought an extension of his interim bail by seven days to undergo a host of medical tests, including a PET-CT scan, given his "sudden and unexplained weight loss coupled with high ketone levels", which are indicative of kidney, serious cardiac ailments and even cancer.In his latest plea submitted on May 26, the chief minister stated that he would surrender to jail authorities on June 9 instead of the originally scheduled date of June 2 for his return to prison.The top court on May 10 granted the chief minister 21-day interim bail to enable him to campaign for the Lok Sabha Elections 2024.It directed that Kejriwal surrender on June 2, a day after the last phase of the seven-phase poll ends.Delhi CM faces corruption and money laundering charges in excise policy scam.