NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to allow an urgent hearing of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal‘s plea for the extension of his interim bail by seven days on medical grounds in the Delhi excise policy case. The vacation bench of Justices JK Maheshwari and KV Viswanathan said the Chief Justice of India would take a call on the listing of Kejriwal’s application. The bench said it’s appropriate if the Chief Justice of India takes a call on the listing of the application for extension of bail as it has been filed in a case in which the judgment has already been reserved. On May 17, the apex court had reserved its verdict on Kejriwal’s plea against his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The top court on May 10 had granted interim bail to Kejriwal till June 1 to campaign for Lok Sabha election and asked him to surrender on June 2. As senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing Kejriwal, mentioned the application for urgent hearing, the bench said, “This is heard and reserved matter. We cannot do anything. Place before CJI for appropriate orders.” Filing a fresh application, Singhvi said Kejriwal sought “only 7 days extension. This is just a medical extension and not abuse of liberty.” The bench then asked Singhvi why the application was not mentioned before Justice Dipankar Datta who was heading a vacation bench last week. To this, Singhvi said the prescription was given only day before yesterday and that is why the application could not be moved last week. Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Dutta had heard the main case and granted interim bail to Kejriwal. In the application seeking extension of one week time, Kejriwal has stated that he needs to undergo diagnostic tests, including a PET-CT Scan. The application stated that recent medical tests revealed elevated blood glucose and ketone levels, suggesting potential kidney-related complications and damage. Kejriwal was arrested by ED on March 21 in connection with a money laundering probe relating to alleged irregularities in the now-cancelled Delhi excise policy 2021-22.
