Interim bail granted
I write this letter as Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India, and a former Union Minister for Law and Justice. The Supreme Court’s order granting interim bail to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal balances the sanctity of the fundamental right to personal liberty and freedom of expression in the election season with the necessity to observe the legal due process in a criminal investigation.
In as much as the Court’s order facilitates campaigning by Mr. Kejriwal and casting of his vote in the Lok Sabha elections, the order subserves the democratic cause in furtherance of the basic structure of the Constitution. At the same time, the order clearly suggests that interim bail to Mr. Kejriwal is upon its own facts and will not serve as a precedent nor be seen as a discriminatory concession to politicians consistent with the constitutional mandate of non-discrimination and equality under law.
