In a major relief for Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, the Supreme Court on Friday granted him bail in a corruption case registered by CBI in the alleged excise policy scam. Supreme Court observed that prolonged incarceration amounts to unjust deprivation of liberty.
The bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan pronounced the order.
They stated that Kejriwal's arrest by the CBI is legal. According to Bar and Bench, the AAP chief will be released subject to a bail bond of Rs. 10 lakh.
Placing conditions on Kejriwal's release, the court said he cannot make public comments about the case. Kejriwal has been asked to appear for trial unless exempted.
In the last hearing, the CBI opposed Kejriwal's bail plea, stating he directly approached the High Court without first going to the Sessions Court.
ASG SV Raju, counsel for the CBI, had argued before the court that Kejriwal used his influence to harass an excise license holder from Punjab through his party-led government.
The Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who is lodged in Tihar Jail, is expected to walk out of the jail this evening after nearly five months of incarceration.
Kejriwal was arrested by the CBI on June 26 while he was in judicial custody in connection with a money laundering case being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) related to the same scam.
Following this, the Delhi CM approached the High Court challenging his arrest. On August 5, the Delhi High Court refused Kejriwal's petition and asked him to approach the trial court for bail.
After the setback from the High Court, Kejriwal filed two pleas before the apex court, challenging the legality of his arrest by the CBI and seeking bail.
After hearing all sides in the case, the bench reserved its verdict on September 5.
The court granted the bail plea and rejected the second plea challenging the legality of his arrest.
Justice Ujjal Bhuyan's scathing observation against CBI
Justice Ujjal Bhuyan, in his separate judgment, lashed out at the CBI and stated that Kejriwal's arrest by the agency after securing bail in the ED case was only intended to frustrate his release from prison. "The CBI did not feel the need to arrest him, even though he was interrogated in March 2023, and it was only after his ED arrest was stayed that the CBI became active and sought custody of Kejriwal. Thus, there was no need for his arrest for over 22 months. Such actions by the CBI raise serious questions about the timing of the arrest, and this arrest by the CBI was solely to frustrate the bail granted in the ED case," Bar and Bench quoted Justice Bhuyan as saying.
He further criticised the Central probe agency, stating, "The CBI must be seen as above board, and every effort must be made to ensure that arrests are not carried out in a high-handed manner. In this country, perception matters, and the CBI must dispel the notion of being a 'caged parrot' and show that it is an uncaged parrot. The CBI should be like Caesar's wife, above suspicion," he said in his order.
Investigative agencies have accused Kejriwal of misconduct in drafting the now-scrapped 2021-22 Delhi excise policy.
Kejriwal was initially arrested by the ED on March 21 in connection with the case.
Although the Supreme Court later granted him interim bail in the ED case, he remained in jail because the CBI formally arrested him on June 26 while he was already in judicial custody related to the ED investigation.
