New Delhi The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday opposed in the Supreme Court the grant of interim bail to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in a money-laundering case linked to the alleged excise policy scam, saying the right to campaign in elections is neither fundamental nor constitutional.
In a fresh affidavit filed in the top court, the ED said no political leader has ever been granted interim bail for campaigning even if he is not contesting polls.
“It is relevant to note that the right to campaign for an election is neither a fundamental right nor a constitutional right and not even a legal right,” the agency said. It added that to its knowledge, “no political leader has been granted interim bail for campaigning even though he is not the contesting candidate. Even a contesting candidate is not granted interim bail if he is in custody for his own campaigning”.
In the fresh affidavit, ED said there is absolutely no principle that justifies giving a differential treatment to a politician for campaigning over a farmer or a businessman who wishes to pursue his vocation. Granting interim bail merely for political campaigning would militate against and will be discriminatory to the rule of equality as work/business/profession or activity of every citizen is equally important to him or her.
The SC bench comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta told Arvind Kejriwal’s counsel Abhishek Singhvi that if it were to give interim bail to the Aam Aadmi Party’s national convenor, it doesn’t want him to be performing official duties as the CM as it could lead to a conflict somewhere.
The court directed the probing agency to present case files both before and after the arrest of Kejriwal, emphasizing transparency in the investigation process.
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