Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced he would surrender to jail authorities on Sunday after being granted interim bail by the Supreme Court in a money laundering case linked to the now-scrapped Delhi liquor policy scam. Kejriwal, who is also the chief of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), was granted interim bail until June 1 to allow him to campaign for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
During a press meeting on Friday, Kejriwal stated he would leave his residence at 3 PM on Sunday to surrender. He assured that his duties towards the state would not be affected by his incarceration, stating, “No matter where I am, I won’t let Delhi’s work get affected.” Kejriwal expressed pride in his fight against what he termed as dictatorship, saying, “I don’t know how long I will remain in jail, but I am proud to be fighting against dictatorship.”
The Supreme Court had earlier refused to urgently list Kejriwal’s plea seeking an extension of his interim bail by seven days for undergoing medical tests. The court noted that since he was given the liberty to apply for regular bail from the trial court, the plea was not maintainable.
Kejriwal had requested an extension of his bail to undergo medical tests, including a PET-CT scan, citing concerns over “sudden and unexplained weight loss coupled with high ketone levels,” which could indicate severe health issues such as kidney problems, serious cardiac ailments, or even cancer.
In his recent plea to the apex court filed on May 26, Kejriwal sought to surrender on June 9 instead of June 2, the date initially scheduled for his return to prison. The Supreme Court had granted him 21 days of interim bail on May 10 to facilitate his election campaign efforts, with the condition to surrender on June 2, the day after the final phase of the seven-phase Lok Sabha polls concludes.
