New Delhi, India

Quashing a plea seeking removal of Delhi, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal from his post, the Supreme Court of India on Monday (May 13) said "it is up to Delhi LG to act".

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The plea, as per media reports, sought Kejriwal's removal from the post of the chief minister after his arrest in a money laundering case related to the Delhi excise policy scam. 

Won't 'interfere,' says SC

A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Dattahe of the top court said that it was up to Delhi Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena "if he wants to, but we will not interfere".

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Calling it a matter of propriety, the bench said there was no legal sight seeking the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader's removal after the arrest.

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"When the matter was being heard, we had posed the same question to them. Ultimately, it is a matter of propriety and there is no legal right," the court told the petitioner.

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Previously, the Delhi High Court, has rejected similar public interest litigations (PILs) three times.

The high court had also imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 (around $598) on former Aam Aadmi Party MLA Sandeep Kumar for filing a "publicity interest petition" and criticised him for attempting to politicise judicial proceedings.

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The latest petition was filed by Kant Bhati, who had sought to challenge the Delhi High Court's order dated April 10.

Arvind Kejriwal released from jail

This comes just days after the AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal was released on interim bail. After 50 days in custody, he was released from the Tihar Jail on Friday (May 10). The top court granted him interim bail for 21 days till June 1 for elections, after which he will have to surrender on June 2 and return to Tihar Jail.

(With inputs from agencies)