Friday (September 13, 2024) is a very special day for Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the Delhi Excise Policy Scam case. He has also got bail in the CBI case. The Supreme Court has granted him bail with two sureties of Rs 10 lakh each. He has two cases of Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against him, out of which he got interim bail in the ED case in June itself.
The bench of Justice Suryakant and Justice Ujjal Bhuiyan had reserved the decision after the hearing on September 5. CM Kejriwal has been accused of money laundering in the liquor policy scam case. He will come out of jail after a full 177 days. Arvind Kejriwal has been in jail since March 21. However, he was given interim bail for 21 days to campaign in the general elections and on June 2, he surrendered in Tihar Jail. If these 21 days are deducted, then he has been in jail for 156 days.
When was he arrested and when did he get bail?
First of all, on 21st March, ED arrested Arvind Kejriwal from his official residence and after spending 51 days in jail, he was released for 21 days to campaign in the general elections. On 2nd June, he went back to jail. On 20th June, the trial court granted him bail saying that there was no direct evidence against him, but the Delhi High Court stayed it. During this time, CBI interrogated him in Tihar Jail and he was arrested from there on 26th June. However, on 12th July, Arvind Kejriwal got interim bail from the Supreme Court in the ED case, but due to the arrest by CBI, he could not come out of jail. The court had said that he has been in jail for 90 days, so bail is necessary. Arvind Kejriwal’s lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi has called the CBI arrest an insurance arrest in the Supreme Court.
What are the allegations against Arvind Kejriwal?
Arvind Kejriwal’s troubles have increased after the entry of CBI. When he was arrested by ED in March, there was only one charge against him – alleged money transactions and its use. ED arrested Arvind Kejriwal under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002. ED is investigating the alleged money trail. At the same time, CBI is investigating bribery and corruption against officials.
What arguments did Kejriwal give in the Supreme Court?
Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi was representing Arvind Kejriwal in the Supreme Court. He termed the CBI arrest as an insurance arrest and said that it is illegal to arrest someone directly without sending a notice for interrogation. He said that doing so is a violation of Section 41A of the CrPC. He also raised the question that if the case is of August 2022, then why was the arrest not made for two years. Referring to a Supreme Court decision, Singhvi said that the court has said that bail is the rule and jail is the exception.
What does the CBI say?
Additional Solicitor General SV Raju presented his case on behalf of CBI in the court. CBI said that chargesheet has been filed against Arvind Kejriwal, which is attached with the petition. CBI said that Arvind Kejriwal was constantly misleading the investigation agency, was not cooperating in the investigation and he was arrested only after taking permission from the court. ASG Raju objected to Arvind Kejriwal’s bail in the court saying that Kejriwal should have first gone to the sessions court for bail, but he went directly to the High Court, which is not right. The High Court also rejected Kejriwal’s petition and asked him to go to the sessions court. Arvind Kejriwal challenged this decision in the Supreme Court.
18 important characters of Delhi liquor policy case and who all are out of jail?
- Former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia got bail on 9 August after 17 months. He was arrested by the CBI on 26 February 2023 and later by the ED as well. While granting him bail, the court had said that bail is the rule and jail is the exception. The court had made strong comments about keeping him in jail for a long time.
- On September 13, Arvind Kejriwal got bail from the Supreme Court.
- Bharat Rashtra Samiti leader and daughter of former Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, K Kavitha got bail on 27 August. She was arrested on 15 March. While granting her bail, the court said that it cannot be said that because she is educated or an MLA or MP, she can be deprived of the benefits of the provisions of the PMLA Act.
- On September 2, former Aam Aadmi Party communication in-charge Vijay Nair got bail from the Supreme Court. He was arrested by the CBI on September 27, 2022.
- On October 4, 2023, AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh was arrested by the ED and on April 2 this year he was granted bail by the Supreme Court. He came out of jail after 6 months.
- In January 2024, Indospirits Group MD Sameer Mahendru was granted interim bail by the Rouse Avenue Court. In September 2022, he was arrested by the CBI.
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Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal gets bail from Supreme Court, will be out soon