Supreme Court Chooses To Look Away On Arvind Kejriwal's "Press ‘Jhaadu,' May Not Go Back To Jail" Remarks Undermining Judicial Process

On Thursday, 16 May, the Supreme Court, in a surprising act of leniency, dismissed the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) objection to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's campaign statement, where he boldly suggested that voting for AAP would prevent his return to jail on 2 June.

During a roadshow in Moti Nagar, Kejriwal said, "If you press the ‘jhaadu’ button on 25 May, I may not go back to jail." He added, "Friends, they are saying after 20 days, I will have to go back to jail... but if you press the broom button... I may not go (back) to jail... the power is in your hands... vote for jhaadu and sweep away the BJP."

At another rally in Model Town, Kejriwal emphasised, "It is in your hands whether I go to jail or not. If you press the lotus button on May 25, I will have to go to jail... Let me clarify here that we have an INDIA bloc in Delhi. Jai Prakash Agarwal ji’s 'hand' button is number 2 on the EVM. You will not find the 'broom' button on the EVM. When you go to vote, think about whether to send Kejriwal to jail or not."

He further stated, "If I go back to jail, the BJP would halt your work, stop free electricity, degrade schools, and shut down hospitals and mohalla clinics. They sent me to jail because I worked for you. The BJP does not want the work of Delhi people to continue."

Despite Kejriwal's comments suggesting a correlation between electoral outcomes and judicial decisions, the Supreme Court chose not to intervene. Commenting on Kejriwal's interim bail, the court emphasised that no exceptions were made for anyone and reiterated the surrender date.

"We welcome criticism of the verdict. We will not delve into that. Our order is clear regarding when he has to surrender. It is the order of the apex court, and the rule of law shall be upheld. We did not make an exception for anybody. We stated in our order what we felt was justified," the Supreme Court remarked.

Kejriwal has been granted interim bail by the Supreme Court until 1 June.

In an earlier judgment, while granting Kejriwal bail, the judges noted that he was not a "habitual offender" and pointed to the ongoing election. The bench stated, "There are elections (and) these are extraordinary circumstances, and he is not a habitual offender. This is a question of public interest."