Supreme Court reserves judgement on Arvind Kejriwal bail plea in Delhi Excise Policy case

The Supreme Court on September 5 reserved its judgment in the petitions by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal seeking release from custody in connection with the excise policy case.

A bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan heard the case for the whole day  in the Supreme Court on Thursday. “Order reserved. Thank you. See you on Tuesday,” said Justice Surya Kant, according to legal news agency LiveLaw.

The Supreme Court bench was hearing two separate pleas filed by Kejriwal – one challenging the legality of his arrest by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and a second plea seeking bail in connection with the Delhi Excise Policy case.

Kejriwal was first arrested by the Enforcement Directorate under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in connection with the alleged Delhi Excise Policy scam on March 21, shortly after the Delhi High Court denied his request for interim protection from arrest.

The Aam Aadmi Party chief was arrested by CBI on June 26, while he was in custody of the ED in the money laundering case related to the alleged liquor policy scam.

On July 12, however, the Supreme Court granted Kejriwal interim bail in the money laundering case, while referring his petition challenging ED arrest to a larger bench. However, he continued to remain in judicial custody due to his arrest by the CBI.

The Aam Aadmi Party chief is the only key political leader who is behind bars in the case. As many as three accused in the case have been released on bail in the past month.

Those granted bail by Supreme Court of India include former Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi, Manish Sisodia, Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) legislator K Kavitha and Vijay Nair, the former communication in-charge of Aam Aadmi Party. Sanjay Singh, another AAP leader who is also a Rajya Sabha member, was released on bail in April 2024.

There are about 40 accused in the case on charges of money laundering by the ED and the corruption filed by the CBI. Of these five, including Kejriwal, still remain in judicial custody.