"Home Minister wouldn't have made such remarks if...": Kapil Sibal on Amit Shah's remarks on SC judgement on Kejriwal's interim bail

May 16, 2024

New Delhi [India], May 16 : Terming Union Home Minister Amit Shah's remarks on the Supreme Court judgement on Arvind Kejriwal's interim bail as "objectionable," Rajya Sabha MP and Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal on Thursday said that if the Home Minister had knowledge about the law, then he would not have made such remarks.
"Amit Shah has given a very objectionable statement and questioned the intention of the Supreme Court. He said that many people say that Arvind Kejriwal's interim bail is a special treatment by the SC. He very cleverly said, "Log kehte hai'. You made this statement because you believe those people. Don't hide behind 'log kehte hai'. The Home Minister, who doesn't have much knowledge about the law, shouldn't have made such remarks. Today, I'll make him understand, that if someone is convicted for more than 2-3 years then, if they get a stay on the conviction they can file nominations and fight elections. If a chargesheet is being filed on someone, they can campaign and also file the nominations. Like Brij Bhushan, he is chargesheeted. How come he is campaigning for his son? One who has allegations against him cannot campaign, why? I believe the Home Minister doesn't have that much knowledge of the law. If they had learned about this, he would not have made these kinds of statements," Sibal said, addressing reporters.
On Wednesday, in an interview with ANI, Amit Shah asked the judges who pronounced the interim bail judgement of Arvind Kejriwal to check if the order was "used or misused."
"I believe that this is a clear contempt of the Supreme Court. So what he wants to say is that if he wins, even if he is guilty, the Supreme Court will not send him to jail. Now that judges who pronounced the judgement have to see if their judgement is used or misused," Amit Shah told ANI.
He also said that many people feel the Supreme Court's decision granting interim bail to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the excise policy case is akin to him getting special treatment. Amit Shah said that the judgement in the case was not a routine judicial order.
"Supreme Court has the right to interpret the law, I believe this is not a routine judgement. A lot of people in this country believe that special treatment has been given," Shah told ANI.
The Supreme Court on May 10 granted interim bail to the Aam Aadmi Party supremo in the alleged money laundering case linked to Delhi's excise policy. The Delhi CM spent over 50 days in Tihar Jail after he was arrested on March 21 this year by the Enforcement Directorate.
As per court order, the bail is applicable till June 1 and Kejriwal has to surrender to the jail authorities on June 2. The Delhi CM can participate in poll campaigning but cannot attend office as Chief Minister.
Meanwhile, responding to the Union Home Minister's remarks that they will get PoK if the BJP gets 400 seats, Kapil Sibbal questioned the intent of the BJP alleging that they were making statements just for votes.
"He (Union HM Amit Shah) says if we win 400 seats, we will take back PoK. What if you don't get that many seats? won't you take back the PoK? We want you to take it back. But firstly, you should take back those 4000 kilometres that China has taken away. What kind of statement is this? What are you saying for the sake of votes? You are a Home Minister, this is a democracy, and you should issue any statement responsibly. It seems like '400 paar kya 200 paar bhi mushkil hai', he said.
The Rajya Sabha MP further said that Swati Maliwal's alleged assault case is an internal matter of AAP and suggested the Home Minister think about Prajwal Revanna.
"Why is he (Union HM Amit Shah) worried about this (Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal assault case). It's an internal matter of AAP. You think about Prajwal, why don't you give statements on that? That is the internal matter of JD(S)," he said.
Four phases of Lok Sabha polls have been held and the voting will conclude on June 1, with results on June 4. Voting for Delhi's seven seats is scheduled to be held on May 25. The Aam Aadmi Party and the Congress are fighting the elections in alliance in the national capital, with the AAP contesting four and the Congress three seats.