Today, the Delhi High Court suspended the trial court's order that had granted bail to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the excise policy case.

Justice Sudhir Kumar Jain granted the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) application to stay the trial court's order. The High Court stated, "This court has determined that the vacation judge did not properly assess the material on record and the arguments presented by the ED."

The High Court criticized the trial judge's remark that the entire extensive record had not been reviewed, calling it "totally unjustified" and indicating a lack of proper consideration of the material. Additionally, the High Court agreed with the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) contention that the trial judge did not provide it with a sufficient opportunity to present its case.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was granted bail by the trial court on June 20. The following day, on June 21, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) challenged the bail decision in the Delhi High Court. In the meantime, the central probe agency filed an urgent application seeking a stay on the contested order.

Justice Jain, who served as the vacation judge last week, heard the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) plea on Friday. While reserving judgment on the stay application, the High Court ordered that the impugned order would remain stayed until the pronouncement of the final decision.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal subsequently appealed to the Supreme Court, challenging the interim stay issued by the High Court. The matter was heard yesterday by a vacation bench led by Justice Manoj Misra, which adjourned the hearing to June 24.

However, the Supreme Court remarked orally that the Delhi High Court's decision to reserve its order on the ED's stay application against Arvind Kejriwal's bail was "a bit unusual." The Court noted that typically, stay orders are issued "on the spot" immediately after the hearing, rather than being reserved.

The hearing was adjourned because the Supreme Court stated it did not want to "pre-judge" the issue while awaiting the High Court's order. The bail order issued by Vacation Judge Niyay Bindu of the Rouse Avenue Court included severe criticisms of the Enforcement Directorate (ED), suggesting that the ED was acting with bias against Arvind Kejriwal.

The order further held that the ED had not shown any direct evidence regarding the proceeds of the crime.