Arvind Kejriwal Gets Bail From Supreme Court In Delhi Liquor Case

The Supreme Court on Friday granted bail to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the liquor excise policy case.

A two-judge bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan pronounced the unanimous decision in open court.

The court clarified that though CBI's arrest in the case did not suffer from any illegality per se, the issue of bail is one of liberty. "Bail is the rule, jail is the exception,"  the court iterated.

The court stated that given the facts and circumstances of the case, there is no possibility of the trial getting over in the immediate future, and therefore the problem of incarceration of an accused under trial amounts to unjust deprivation of personal liberty.

As a result, the court has directed that Kejriwal be released from jail after furnishing a bail bond of Rs 10 lakh. Additionally, the court has directed him not to make any public comments on the case at hand since the trial is still pending.

The court has also clarified that Kejriwal will not be able to go to the office and will not be able to sign any official files.

Justice Ujjal Bhuyan made a scathing remark on the timing of the central agency's arrest in the case, stating that the arrest raises more questions than it answers.

He observed that CBI's case against the chief minister was registered back in August 2022; however, the agency did not feel the need to arrest him up until Kejriwal was granted regular bail in the case.

For over 22 months, the CBI did not have any urgent need to arrest Kejriwal, Justice Bhuyan said.

This, he said, raises serious questions on the timing of the arrest. Justice Bhuyan observed that the CBI arrested Kejriwal only to frustrate the bail granted to him in the ED case.

Justice Bhuyan further stated that it would be a travesty of justice to keep Kejriwal incarcerated when he has been granted bail in the same case under more stringent conditions of the Enforcement Directorate. "The process cannot become a punishment in itself,"  he said.

Lastly, Justice Bhuyan remarked that the CBI is the country's premier agency, and every effort must be made to remove the perception that the arrest was made in a highhanded manner or that the investigation was not carried out fairly.

On March 21, the ED arrested Kejriwal for his alleged involvement in the liquor policy scam. Prior to his arrest, Kejriwal had declined the central probe agency's summons on multiple occasions.

In April, the Delhi High Court declined to order the release of the chief minister, saying that it did not deem the arrest to be unlawful or illegal. This prompted Kejriwal to approach the top court for relief.

The apex court granted him bail until June 1, primarily because the general elections were around the corner and the court didn't want to keep him behind bars during that time. The court had rejected Kejriwal's request for interim bail until July and asked him to surrender on June 2.

Subsequently, the Central Bureau of Investigation, too, arrested Kejriwal on June 26.

Thereafter, the top court granted interim bail to Kejriwal on July 12, but since he was in the central agency's custody, he remained behind bars.

The case pertains to accusations of corruption and money laundering during the formulation and implementation of the Delhi government's liquor excise policy in 2021–22, which was later scrapped.

The case led to the arrest of Manish Sisodia, the former deputy chief minister, in February last year. AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh also faced arrest in October.

The case also led to BRS leader K Kavitha's arrest in March. Following Kavitha's arrest, the ED released a press note calling Kejriwal a conspirator in the alleged liquor policy scam.