Kejriwal Bail - Supreme Court falls further!
Supreme Court just made the case for Judicial reforms.
In an unprecedented judgement, the Supreme Court broke tradition and granted Arvind Kejriwal “interim bail” to allow him to campaign for elections.
I must say that the Supreme Court has demeaned its own prestige and is acting in a dictatorial manner.
Breaking Precedents
This is not the first time those under investigation for Economic offences have applied for bail. In all these cases, bail was refused. Rahul Shivshankar summarizes some of the past political instances in his tweet.
Abhishek Banerjee, in his tweet, reminds us of the treatment received by the current home minister when the present opposition hounded him.
The present Defence Minister was arrested when Congress Prime Minister Indira Gandhi imposed an emergency and pushed the country into chaos in 1975. Rajnath Singh was among the youth who protested against the emergency and wrongful arrest of opposition leaders. He was held in solitary confinement (without prosecution) and denied leave to attend to his mother’s last rites. You can listen to his interview here.
Kejriwal’s offence list is quite grim and serious
Kejriwal is currently under investigation for financial fraud and other economic offences in the liquor scam. The money trail established by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) so quite exhaustive.
The ED first issued a summons to Kejriwal in October of 2023. If he had appeared before the relevant authorities then, he would be free to campaign today (if he was not guilty). Arvind Kejriwal evaded the NINE summons before he was arrested.
The ED has proved that Kejriwal and his team have made serious and deliberate attempts to destroy events and influence witnesses.
All these points were enough to deny him bail.
In addition, Gurpatwan Singh Pannu has alleged that he and Khalistani organisations (declared terrorists) have given Kejriwal an amount of $16million in an unverified video. The US has falsely alleged that the Indian government was trying to assassinate this same Pannu. Pannu is a member of the declared terror outfit Sikhs for Justice and was connected to bombers of Air India Flight 182, killing 329 Canadians (the largest air terrorism event before 9/11).
The decision opens Pandora’s box
I have often marvelled at our Courts' and policymakers' inability to understand the second—and third-order effects of their decisions. This is a prime example.
Already a declared terrorist, Amritpal Singh has applied for bail, saying he wants to contest elections.
It creates a separate and special class of politicians within criminal offenders, which is a direct contravention of fundamental rights.
The lenient treatment of a person who evades NINE summons is a mockery of common criminals who are often wrongly detained for evading just one.
There is no provision for “interim bail” in law. The court could have either given or denied bail.
The special access that the Supreme Court gives to certain Senior advocates is a serious trampling of the rights of those who cannot afford these lawyers. This clearly is an elitist court where the common man, or the real Aam Aadmi, will not get easy access.
Modi-Shah played the Supreme Court
I am not sure Modi-Shah played a deliberate game here, but they found themselves in a position where their cat would always land on its feet.
The Supreme Court itself is proving the case for the need for Judicial reforms. The Supreme Court scuttled the government’s Judicial reforms, and since then, its actions have only highlighted the urgency and necessity of judicial reforms.
Releasing Kejriwal is beneficial for Modi’s election campaign. It reinforces Modi’s subliminal message that deep-state and anti-India forces are against him, and that makes him ever more popular.
Kejriwal will reveal his accomplices and additional proof. He will be under surveillance and any efforts to connect with his break-India group will only expose them. This is the very reason suspects are released and then tailed. Once he does, it will shame the Supreme Court even more (not that have shame)
In Sum
Never before is this more clear that the Judiciary needs to be reformed urgently.
I have been exposing the shortcomings of the Supreme Court of India. As a lawyer, I believe I have the responsibility to highlight these shortcomings so that we may eventually see reform. Here are some further readings.
