Supreme Court imposed no restrictions on Delhi CM’s work, says AAP MP

A day after the Supreme Court granted bail to Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, paving the way for him to walk out of jail after a months-long incarceration, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Sanjay Singh on Saturday said the apex court has imposed no restrictions on the CM to continue his work, and accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of “spreading lies” about Kejriwal’s functional restrictions.
Kejriwal was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on March 21 in connection with alleged irregularities in the Delhi excise policy 2021-22. While he was in custody, the CM was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with a parallel probe into the same case.
The Supreme Court on Friday granted Kejriwal bail in the CBI case, but set certain conditions — the CM cannot leave the country, he cannot visit his office or the Delhi secretariat, and he is not at liberty to sign any official files, unless required and necessary for obtaining clearance or approval of the lieutenant governor. Additionally, Kejriwal is barred from making public statements about his alleged role in the case, and is ordered to remain present at all trial hearings, unless granted exemption.
To be sure, the conditions were the same as imposed by another bench of the Supreme Court in July, when he received bail in the ED case.
On Saturday, Singh, at a press conference at the AAP headquarters, claimed that the BJP is spreading lies about the bail conditions of the chief minister in order to stop the AAP government’s welfare work.
“Arvind Kejriwal will continue to work as the chief minister of Delhi like before, will keep fighting for the people of Delhi to get them their rights. Not a single work of the people of Delhi will stop. The Supreme Court has not stopped the Delhi government and Arvind Kejriwal from doing any work. He has the right to sign every important file that goes to the LG,” Singh said.
“The BJP is spreading lies because it wants to stop free electricity, water, education, health and bus travel for women… The Supreme Court has not imposed any restriction on Arvind Kejriwal that will make the work of Delhi residents suffer,” he said.
A senior bureaucrat posted in Delhi said Kejriwal does not hold any portfolio, which means that no department is directly under him. “In such a case, he is not required to sign departmental files on a day-to-day basis. Most of the files that the CM signs are those that need to be sent to the LG for approval. The Supreme Court has allowed the CM to sign such files,” the officer said, on condition of anonymity.
“Kejriwal is restricted from going to the Delhi secretariat, but according to my understanding, he can function from his camp office,” the bureaucrat said, adding that officials cannot refuse meetings called by the chief minister during office hours.
The BJP did not respond to HT’s queries for a comment on the matter.