The Supreme Court on Wednesday declined to urgently list Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s plea seeking a 7-day extension of his interim bail. Consequently, Kejriwal is required to return to Tihar Jail on June 2.

The Supreme Court registry refused to accept the application, stating that since the Chief Minister was granted the liberty to approach the trial court for regular bail, the plea was not maintainable. Kejriwal had been granted interim bail by Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta on May 10 and was instructed to surrender to Tihar Jail on June 2. The bench had reserved its verdict on May 17 regarding Kejriwal’s challenge to the validity of his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case linked to the liquor scam.

The Supreme Court stated that since the verdict on the challenge to the arrest had already been reserved, Kejriwal’s plea for an extension of interim bail had no relation to the main petition.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which filed the petition, argued that Kejriwal had lost 7 kg since his arrest and his ketone levels were significantly high, potentially indicating a serious health condition. AAP noted that doctors from Max Hospital had examined Kejriwal and determined he needed to undergo a PET-CT scan and other medical tests. “He requires 7 days to complete these medical investigations,” stated the AAP.

On May 10, the Supreme Court bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta granted Kejriwal interim bail until June 1 to enable him to campaign for the Lok Sabha elections. According to the order, Kejriwal, who was arrested by the ED in connection with the Delhi excise policy scam case, must surrender on June 2.