Over two consecutive days, the Supreme Court made significant observations regarding the Delhi High Court's orders in separate bail plea cases involving AAP leaders Satyendar Jain and Arvind Kejriwal.
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court emphasized that bail matters should not be unnecessarily adjourned. This remark came during the hearing of Satyendar Jain's petition, which challenged a Delhi High Court order deferring his default bail plea. The Supreme Court expressed its hope that the Delhi High Court would decide Jain's bail plea "without delay". The court stated, "It goes without saying that bail prayers are not unnecessarily to be adjourned, and thus we hope and pray that the High Court takes a call on the matter when it is listed next."
Previously, on May 28, the Delhi High Court had postponed the hearing of Jain's default bail plea to July 9. Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing Jain, highlighted the lengthy six-week adjournment and mentioned that such cases are generally addressed within a week. The Supreme Court responded by underscoring the need for a swift decision, remarking, "We will observe that the High Court will ensure that the matter is decided (fast)."
Satyendar Jain was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on May 30, 2022, in connection with a money laundering case.
On the preceding day, Monday, the Supreme Court bench remarked that the Delhi High Court's interim stay on Arvind Kejriwal's bail was "a bit unusual." The court observed that typically, stay orders are not reserved but are instead pronounced immediately. Justice Misra commented, "Normally, in a stay order, judgments are not reserved. They are passed at the hearing itself, on the spot. So, a bit unusual."
Kejriwal had approached the Supreme Court after the Delhi High Court delayed the order of the trial court granting him bail by "two-three days." However, the Supreme Court did not provide immediate relief to Kejriwal, noting that the High Court had yet to pronounce a final judgment on the matter. Kejriwal's lawyer argued that if the High Court could stay the bail order without a detailed examination, the Supreme Court should similarly stay the High Court's order. Justice Misra responded, "If the High Court has committed a mistake, should we repeat it?"
The Supreme Court decided it would hear the case on June 25 after the Delhi High Court delivered its verdict.
Both observations were made by a bench of Justices Manoj Misra and SVN Bhatti of the Supreme Court.
