The Supreme Court made a significant decision on May 10 (Friday), declaring its intent to grant interim bail to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the Delhi liquor policy case until June 1.

The Bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta announced that the detailed order will be uploaded by evening.

The bench highlighted that the liquor policy case was filed back in August 2022, with Kejriwal's arrest occurring in March 2024, nearly a year and a half later. Kejriwal was taken into custody by the Enforcement Directorate on March 21 and has remained under detention ever since.

For the first time, the Bench had displayed a willingness to entertain the question of interim bail for Kejriwal on May 3. Notifying ASG Raju, the bench had expressed that it might contemplate interim bail for the AAP chief in light of the Lok Sabha Elections if the proceedings were delayed. However, on subsequent occasions, strong opposition to the idea of granting interim bail was voiced by SG Tushar Mehta and ASG Raju. They argued that the ED possessed "evidence" against Kejriwal and asserted that election campaigning should not serve as a criterion for considering interim bail.

The bench, however, noted that it was handling the case of an elected Chief Minister, not a habitual offender, and emphasized that general elections occur only once every five years. However, it clarified that if interim release were indeed directed, Kejriwal would not be permitted to carry out official duties, as doing so would have a cascading effect.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) filed an affidavit before the Supreme Court yesterday, opposing the interim bail for Kejriwal. Today, Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta furthered this position by informing the Court that Amrit Pal Singh, accused in a UAPA case concerning Khalistani activities, has also petitioned for bail to participate in elections.

"That(Amrit Pal Sigh case) is something different," Justice Khanna said. SG said that there are no precedents for releasing a person for campaign when he himself is not a candidate.

"Let us not put in a straightjacket like that. We are passing an order giving him interim relief till June 1, 2024. We will upload the order by this evening," Justice Khanna said.