Court in its order, however, upholds validity of Kejriwal’s Arrest By CBI, though one of the judges on the two-judge bench, Justice Ujjal Bhuyan differed with his brother judge Justice Surya Kant on this issue
As was being widely expected, the Supreme Court on Friday granted bail to Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supremo Arvind Kejriwal in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) FIR related to the Delhi liquor policy case. The Court verdict was in response to petitions filed by the Delhi chief minister challenging his arrest and seeking bail in the case.
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A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan after concluding hearing of the matter had reserved its verdict on September 5.
Both the judges delivered separate judgments. While Justice Kant held the Kejriwal’s arrest legal and not suffering from any procedural irregularity, both judges were one in granting bail to the chief minister, considering that the chargesheet had been filed and that the trial is unlikely to be completed any time soon.
Kejriwal is expected to walk free later in the day. The development comes as a big relief for AAP, which is left to contest the ongoing Haryana assembly elections on its own after the breakdown of coalition talks with the Congress. The party has named nominees to all 90 seats and campaigning by Kejriwal in a state where he traces his family roots would provide a big boost to its electoral prospects.
The same conditions will apply to the bail in this case as imposed while granting interim bail to Kejriwal in the ED case, including restrictions like Kejriwal not being allowed to visit the office of the Chief Minister and Delhi Secretariat, and forbidden from signing official files unless required and necessary for obtaining clearance/approval of the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi.
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He will be required to furnish bail bonds of Rs 10 lakh, will not make any public comments about the case, and be present for all hearings before the trial court unless exempted.
Justice Bhuyan had a differing view regarding the need and necessity to arrest Kejriwal, holding that the arrest by the CBI was only to frustrate the bail granted to the Delhi chief minister in the money laundering case.
The judge also expressed reservations regarding the bail condition that Kejriwal should not visit the CM’s office or the Secretariat but chose not to pass any direction in this regard. He reminded the CBI of its duty to ensure that its investigations are fair.
“Not so long ago this Court had castigated the CBI comparing it to a caged parrot. It is imperative that the CBI dispels the notion of being a caged parrot, rather the perception should be that of an uncaged parrot,” Justice Bhuyan observed.
Kejriwal’s petition in the Supreme Court had challenged the Delhi High Court order under which his plea against CBI arrest was dismissed by a Single Judge bench with liberty to approach the trial Court for bail.
The Delhi chief minister and AAP supremo was formally arrested by CBI on June 26, 2024, while in custody of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the money laundering case arising out of the alleged liquor policy scam.
