Arvind Kejriwal’s Bail Halt: 157 Lawyers Express ‘Deep Concerns’ To CJI Chandrachud

New Delhi: Over 150 lawyers have written to Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud over “unprecedented practices” in courts.

Their grievance is about Arvind Kejriwal’s bail being paused by Delhi High Court after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) challenged the Rouse Avenue court’s order that had granted bail to the Delhi chief minister in the liquor policy case.

The letter to CJI Chandrachud, sent earlier this week, was signed by 157 lawyers from Delhi High Court, district courts and lawyers of Aam Aadmi Party’s legal cell.

“We are writing on behalf of the legal fraternity regarding some unprecedented practices being witnessed in the Delhi High Court and district courts of Delhi,” the lawyers stated.

The lawyers asserted that a hearing was held before the trial court’s order was uploaded.

Additional Sessions Judge Bindu, while granting bail to Kejriwal, quoted the CJI as saying that trial courts need to make speedy and bold decisions so that the superior courts are not clogged with cases.

“However, on the very next day, the ED challenged this order in the Delhi High Court. What makes this challenge extremely irregular is the fact that the challenge was done even before the Rouse Avenue Court order was uploaded (on the website),” the letter read.

The matter was then listed urgently, heard and the trial court’s bail order stayed by the High Court.

“This raises the question as to how Justice Sudhir Kumar Jain, before the order was uploaded, allowed the mentioning of a challenge to the said order, and allowed it to be listed, and most worryingly ordered a pause on the execution of the bail bond. All of this was done even before the order was uploaded,” the letter mentioned.

“Something like this has never been seen in the history of the Indian judiciary before this and this has raised deep concerns in the mind of the legal fraternity,” the lawyers claimed.

Instead of walking out of Tihar Jail on June 21, Kejriwal remains behind the bars.

It remains to be seen when and how CJI Chandrachud responds to the lawyers’ representation.