The Indian opposition leader and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had his bail suspended by an Indian court on Friday, following a lower court’s order in a graft case.
The decision extends his pre-trial detention until at least next week. Kejriwal, a fierce critic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and a former anti-corruption crusader, leads the decade-old Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). Although AAP quickly rose to mainstream politics, its influence is relatively small compared to older opposition parties.
He was arrested by India’s financial crime-fighting agency in March, weeks before national elections, on corruption charges related to Delhi’s liquor policy and was granted bail by a city court on Thursday. Kejriwal has denied the allegations, calling them politically motivated.
The agency challenged the bail order in the Delhi High Court on Friday morning, arguing that the lower court had not considered the documents it submitted and had not given it sufficient opportunity to oppose the bail.
Kejriwal’s AAP is a member of the opposition ‘INDIA’ alliance, which defied predictions and prevented Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from securing an outright majority in the general election. This forced the prime minister to form his first coalition government with support from unreliable regional allies.