Interim Bail for Elections: Arvind Kejriwal v. ED (2024)

Lok Sabha Elections Justify a Libertarian View: Supreme Court Grants Arvind Kejriwal Interim Bail in ED Case

Published: 21 October 2026 · NyayVidhan

Hearing Arvind Kejriwal's challenge to his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate, the Supreme Court released the Delhi Chief Minister on interim bail till 1 June 2024 because the 18th Lok Sabha elections were under way. The power to grant regular bail includes interim bail, and weighing his particular circumstances, with no conviction, no criminal antecedents and the legality of his arrest pending, gave politicians no special privilege (paras 7, 8, 10, 15, 17-18).

Key holdings

Interim release during general elections rests on the peculiarities of the case, not a privilege for politicians (paras 8, 17).

The power to grant interim bail flows from the power to grant regular bail, read with Article 21 (para 10).

With the appeal pending before it, the Court itself granted interim release instead of sending him to the trial court (para 7).

Non-appearance despite summons is a negative factor weighed with all other facets (para 15).

Interim bail is no expression of opinion on the merits or on the pending appeal (para 19).

Case explainer by NyayVidhan: an account of this judgment and the law it laid down, not the court's text. The judgment itself is the authoritative version.

Brief Facts

The Enforcement Directorate registered an ECIR on 22.08.2022 after the CBI registered the predicate offences on 17.08.2022 on a complaint by Delhi's Lieutenant Governor (para 5). Four supplementary prosecution complaints followed the first of 26.11.2022, but charges had not been framed (para 6). The appellant, arrested on 21.03.2024, appealed against the trial court and Delhi High Court orders upholding his arrest, raising Section 19 of the PMLA (paras 2-3). As the hearing was prolonged, the Court told the parties on 03.05.2024 that it might examine interim bail (para 4). The Directorate pointed out that he had not answered nine summons since October 2023 (para 15).

Court's Findings

The hearing could not yet be concluded, and with the appeal on the arrest pending before it, sending the appellant to the trial court for interim release was not apt (para 7). General elections, in which 650-700 million of about 970 million electors would vote, are the most significant event of the year and supply the vis viva to democracy (para 8). The Court rejected the plea that interim release would place politicians above ordinary citizens, since courts always weigh the peculiarities of the person and the circumstances (paras 8, 17). The power to grant regular bail includes interim bail, particularly in view of Article 21, and is exercised routinely even by trial courts (paras 9-10, 14). The missed summons were a negative factor, but he is the Chief Minister, unconvicted, without antecedents and no threat to society, and the investigation had been pending since August 2022 (para 15). With the legality of the arrest sub judice, a more holistic and libertarian view was justified (para 15). Siba Shankar Das had deleted a bail condition barring political activity as a breach of fundamental rights (para 17).

Legal Principle

The power to grant regular bail includes the power to grant interim bail; courts deciding it weigh the peculiarities of the person and the circumstances, and where the legality of the arrest is itself pending and general elections are under way, a holistic and libertarian view of interim release is justified (paras 8, 10, 15).

Precedents Relied Upon

Mukesh Kishanpuria v. State of West Bengal (2010) 15 SCC 154
Relied Upon Discussed at ¶ 10
The power to grant regular bail includes the power to grant interim bail, particularly in view of Article 21.
Sunil Fulchand Shah v. Union of India and Others (2000) 3 SCC 409
Referred To Discussed at ¶ 11
Courts can direct temporary release of a detenu, but only in extreme and deserving cases.
Dadu @ Tulsidas v. State of Maharashtra (2000) 8 SCC 437
Referred To Discussed at ¶ 12
The bar on suspending sentence in Section 32A NDPS Act does not affect the power to grant parole or furlough.

View all precedents (6)

Anukul Chandra Pradhan v. Union of India and Others (1997) 6 SCC 1
Referred To Discussed at ¶ 16
Relied on by the ED: the prohibition on voting by persons in custody under Section 62(5) RP Act was upheld.
K. Ananda Nambiar and Another v. Chief Secretary to the Government of Madras and Others AIR 1966 SC 657
Referred To Discussed at ¶ 16
Relied on by the ED: members of the legislature cannot claim freedom from arrest.
Siba Shankar Das @ Pintu v. State of Odisha and Another 2024 SCC OnLine SC 410
Relied Upon Discussed at ¶ 17
A bail condition barring political activities breaches fundamental rights and was deleted.

Statutory Provisions