The Delhi High Court halted Arvind Kejriwal’s anticipated release on bail after an urgent petition filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) just hours before the Delhi Chief Minister was set to leave Tihar jail. The agency The High Court said till it heard the petition, the trial court order granting Mr Kejriwal bail would not be acted upon.

Additional Solicitor General (ASG) SV Raju, representing the ED, argued against the trial court’s decision to grant bail to Mr Kejriwal, labelling it as “perverse” and highlighting serious procedural irregularities. “The trial court’s order is completely flawed,” Mr Raju said before the bench comprising Justices Sudhir Kumar Jain and Ravinder Dudeja.

“We showed material but nothing considered. There are two ways when bail can be cancelled. If relevant facts are not considered and irrelevant facts are considered, that is grounds for cancellation of bail. I am saying look at the soundness of the order. Could have granted bail but not in this manner. Totally perverse order,” he added.

Citing a 2014 Supreme Court precedent, Mr Raju underscored the importance of ensuring that bail decisions are based on sound legal reasoning and comprehensive evaluation of all pertinent facts. “The trial court should not have overlooked relevant aspects and should not have relied on irrelevant considerations,” he asserted.

“The court did not hear our arguments, did not properly examine the evidence we provided, and dismissed our concerns without due consideration,” he added.

The High Court, while temporarily suspending the bail order, indicated that a thorough examination of the ED’s petition would be conducted before any further decisions are made. “Until the matter is fully heard and evaluated, the trial court’s decision granting bail cannot be implemented,” the bench declared.

The ED arrested Mr Kejriwal over money laundering allegations while framing the Delhi liquor policy for 2021-22, which was later scrapped after the Lieutenant Governor raised red flags. The ED has alleged the money Mr Kejriwal got from the liquor sellers was used to fund the party’s campaign in Goa since he is the convenor of the AAP.

The drunk Pune teen who killed two people – while driving his father’s Rs 2.5 crore Porsche supercar – caused the accident but was probably also in “shock” and it is natural, therefore, to assume his mental faculties would have been adversely affected, the Bombay High Court said Friday.

The court was hearing a plea by the boy’s aunt seeking his immediate release on grounds his arrest – hours after a high-speed collision with a motorbike carrying two people – was “arbitrary and illegal”.

The aunt also argued that the police – heavily criticised for appearing to shield the boy, who is the son of an influential city builder – were guilty of “abuse of process and blatant disregard for the rule of law”.

Parts of Delhi experienced rainfall today amid an intense spell of heatwave. Visuals from the RK Puram area showed rain lashing the streets, providing a welcome change from the scorching conditions that have gripped the region. Similar scenes were witnessed in other areas of the National Capital Region (NCR), with Haryana’s Gurugram also experiencing a downpour.

#WATCH | Delhi: Slight respite from the sizzling heatwave; rain lashes parts of national capital

(Visuals from RK Puram) pic.twitter.com/3TWH5qAUE5

— ANI (@ANI) June 21, 2024

The day began with a partly cloudy sky in Delhi, and the minimum temperature settled at a relatively normal 28.4 degrees Celsius, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). The Met office also forecasted thunderstorms accompanied by light rain in certain parts of the city later in the day, with the maximum temperature expected to hover around 40 degrees Celsius.

The Air Quality Index (AQI) of the national capital was recorded in the “moderate” category, with a reading of 157 at 9 am, as reported by the Central Pollution Control Board. An AQI between zero and 50 is considered “good”, 51 to 100 “satisfactory”, 101 to 200 “moderate”, 201 to 300 “poor”, 301 to 400 “very poor”, and 401 to 500 “severe”.