A Delhi court on Thursday granted bail to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in a money laundering case connected to the Delhi government’s now-withdrawn Excise Policy 2021-22. Judge Nyay Bindu of Rouse Avenue Courts granted the bail on a bond of Rs 1 lakh after hearing arguments from both Kejriwal’s counsel and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) over two days.

Zoheb Hossain, representing the ED, requested a 48-hour stay on the bail order to allow for an appeal, but the court denied this request and ordered the bail bond to be signed on Friday.

Kejriwal was arrested by the ED on March 21 in relation to its investigation into alleged irregularities in the formulation and implementation of the Excise Policy. The ED’s case is part of a larger investigation initially conducted by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which also named Kejriwal’s close aide and former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia as an accused.

On May 10, a Supreme Court bench had granted Kejriwal interim release until June 1, allowing him to campaign for the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections. Kejriwal, the national convener of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), has accused the ED of acting under the influence of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to target leaders