In his special leave petition, Kejriwal has filed two separate petitions challenging the denial of bail and his arrest by the CBI on June 26 in the liquor policy case
The Supreme Court on Thursday reserved its order on Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s pleas seeking bail and challenging his arrest by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with his alleged involvement in the excise policy scam.
The case was heard by a bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan.
Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi represented Kejriwal, while Additional Solicitor General SV Raju represented the CBI.
During the proceedings, Singhvi noted that this is the “only case” in which bail has been granted twice to Kejriwal under the stringent Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) provisions, in addition to regular bail.
The senior counsel further emphasised that Kejriwal poses no threat in the PMLA case.
“He is not a threat in the PMLA case. Currently, there is only the triple test remaining; the next step is to obtain regular bail from the trial court under Section 45 of the PMLA. This order was stayed by the High Court through an oral mention. Effectively, there are three orders in play,” Singhvi said.
Singhvi also noted that the central agency made an ‘insurance arrest’ after Kejriwal was granted bail in the ED case. Arguing for bail for the jailed Delhi CM, he stated that Kejriwal is a constitutional functionary and is not a “flight risk”.
Singhvi also argued that all the co-accused in the Delhi excise case have been released. “The trial court noted that the timing of the arrest is unusual. The triple test has been fully met. It is ironic that nearly all co-accused have been released, with perhaps only one exception,” he said.
The Supreme Court have so far granted bail to senior AAP leader and former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, BRS leader K. Kavitha, and AAP’s former communication-in-charge Vijay Nair in the now-scrapped excise policy case.
Kejriwal files two separate petitions
Kejriwal filed two separate petitions, challenging the denial of bail and his arrest by the CBI on June 26 in the case. He also contested the August 5 order of the Delhi High Court, which upheld his arrest.
The top court had, on August 23, permitted the CBI to file its counter affidavit and granted Kejriwal two days to submit a rejoinder.
On June 20, a trial court granted bail to Kejriwal after his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on March 21 in the money laundering case. However, this bail order was subsequently stayed by the Delhi High Court.
Additionally, the Supreme Court, on July 12, had ordered, that Kejriwal be released on interim bail in connection with the case filed by the ED. However, he remained in custody due to his arrest by the CBI.
On August 5, the Delhi High Court upheld the arrest of the Chief Minister as legal, stating that there was no malice in the CBI’s actions. The court noted that the CBI had demonstrated how the AAP supremo could potentially influence witnesses, who only found the courage to testify after his arrest.
The high court had directed him to apply for regular bail in the CBI case before the trial court.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, a court took cognisance of the charge sheet filed by the CBI against Kejriwal and other accused in the liquor policy scam. Special Judge Kaveri Baweja issued a production warrant for Kejriwal on September 11 and extended his custody until the same date.
(With inputs from agencies)
