Kejriwal petitions SC seeking extension of interim bail by 7 days

New Delhi: Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, now on interim bail in connection with the excise policy-linked money laundering case, has moved a plea before the Supreme Court seeking extension of his bail by seven days to undergo medical tests.

The AAP said Mr Kejriwal's weight dropped by 7 kg after his arrest on March 21. He has not regained the lost weight and the doctors are unable to find why his weight decreased. The BJP, however, dubbed the move a “drama” by the AAP chief to avoid going back to jail on June 2, a day after the expiry of his interim bail.

Delhi minister Atishi said: “He has undergone some tests and his ketone level is very high. Loss of weight and high ketone level could be symptoms of very serious diseases, as told by doctors. It could be symptoms of serious problems in the kidneys or also might be symptoms of cancer.”

The AAP leader further said that doctors have suggested to Mr Kejriwal to take several tests such as PET scan and CT scan of his whole body, she said, adding this necessitated the filing of an application in the Supreme Court for extension of his interim bail by seven days so that these tests could be conducted.

Countering the AAP’s claim regarding Mr Kejriwal’s health, Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said: “During the entire election campaign, he (Delhi chief minister) remained perfectly healthy, but when it's time to go to jail, his health has started deteriorating. He should explain why he went to Punjab for election campaigning for three days if he was unwell. By campaigning even when he is unwell he has committed a legal offence.”

“The apex court granted him bail for poll campaigning, which he did without any problem. But now he is suffering from serious diseases. If so, why is he not having those tests done now instead of being busy with campaigning in Punjab?” Mr Sachdeva quipped.

In his plea filed on May 26, Mr Kejriwal said he wishes to surrender back to jail on June 9, instead of June 2.

”The appellant prays for an extension of his interim bail by a week, during which the appellant can get the prescribed tests done and obtain results of the same. The appellant will get all these tests done in the working week from June 3 (Monday) to June 7 (Friday) and then surrender on the weekend, i.e. June 9,” the fresh plea said.

The latest plea, which is likely to be taken up in the coming days by a vacation bench, said during the incarceration from March 21 to May 10, the chief minister suffered a lot of health-related complications which are also “partly attributable to the negligent and callous behaviour of the jail authorities”.

Mr Kejriwal lost around six to seven kg of weight in the jail and has not been able to regain it even after his release and renewing his earlier lifestyle to the extent possible, the petition said.

The plea said: “In the meantime, recent test reports confirm that the appellant has also developed an unusually high blood glucose level as well as high ketone levels in urine, which indicate that in addition to increased blood sugar level, the appellant may have also developed kidney related complications and kidney damage.”

The petition referred to his recent health checkup at his residence by a senior physician of a private hospital and said the doctor took note of Mr Kejriwal’s health complications and increased risk indicators and prescribed a host of full body tests, which are necessary to be carried out before he surrenders.

The plea said: “It is important to note that unexplained weight loss which a person is not able to regain along with the other symptoms… can have a host of causes, including some potentially life threatening ones. It is on account of this that a senior physician from Max Hospital upon a detailed clinical examination of the appellant at his home on May 25, 2024 has directed a host of tests including but not limited to tests such as whole body PET-CT to rule out any malignancies and Holter Monitor Test, where the appellant will be required to wear a Holter monitor for a few days while going about his daily activities to identify any irregularities in his heart functioning."

The plea said these tests are to be done in a particular sequence and would require about five-seven days, adding “sudden and unexplained weight loss, coupled with high ketone levels could be indicative of kidney damage, serious cardiac ailments and even cancer”.

On May 10, the apex court had granted 21-day interim bail to Mr Kejriwal, who was arrested in a money laundering case linked to the excise policy “scam”, to enable him to campaign for the Lok Sabha polls.

The top court directed Mr Kejriwal to surrender on June 2, a day after the end of the last phase of the seven-phase polls.