High Court rejects Arvind Kejriwal’s bail plea
New Delhi: The Supreme Court stated on Thursday that granting Arvind Kejriwal bail would not “demoralize” the Delhi High Court, which last month denied the Chief Minister relief over his detention by the CBI in the alleged liquor policy fraud. A court made up of Justices Ujjal Bhuyan and Surya Kant dismissed the government agency’s objection to the AAP leader’s release with the words, “Don’t say that.”
In support of the CBI, Additional Solicitor General SV Raju said that Mr. Kejriwal had wrongly applied for bail at the High Court rather than the lower court, Rouse Avenue Court in Delhi.
“On the merits, the trial court might have viewed it first, therefore he went straight to the High Court instead of the Sessions Court. He said, “The High Court can only consider extraordinary cases,” and that freeing Mr. Kejriwal at this time would undermine its authority.
AAP MP Raghav Chadha also took a mocking shot at the CBI’s reasoning, writing on X, “If the Sun rises from the East, it will demoralise the West.”
Early in August, Mr. Kejriwal’s bail request was denied by the High Court, who instructed him to seek relief from the sessions court. But the AAP decided to take the case to the nation’s highest court, citing its statement that “returning the appellant to the trial court would be like playing a game of snakes and ladders” in the release of former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia.
The Supreme Court postponed making a decision on Mr. Kejriwal’s bail request after its hearing on Thursday. In relation to a further appeal contesting the Chief Minister’s detention by the CBI, the court likewise postponed ruling.
The AAP head was detained by the CBI in June; he was brought before the Rouse Avenue Court soon after the Enforcement Directorate granted bail in connection with the same case.
Speaking on behalf of Mr. Kejriwal, senior attorney Abhishek Singhvi criticized the CBI’s arrest, calling it “insurance” to keep the AAP leader behind bars as long as possible—especially considering that the Delhi Assembly election is scheduled for early in the next year. As Mr. Singhvi pointed out, Arvind Kejriwal had been granted bail in the ED case, indicating that he had fulfilled the requirements of the ‘triple test’ legal concept to be released.
It was also said that bail was granted to all other accused parties in the purported liquor policy fraud, including Mr. Sisodia, AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh, and Bharat Rashtra Samithi leader K Kavitha.
“Prolonged incarceration cannot be there…” Referring to remarks made by the Supreme Court in its decision to free Mr. Sisodia, Mr. Singhvi said “Is the ‘triple test’ met? Yes, the court determined in the Manish Sisodia ruling that the trial in this specific excise policy matter cannot be completed.”
Since late March, Mr. Kejriwal has been incarcerated. Prior to Delhi’s general election vote in June, he was granted a brief respite; however, after the announcement of the results, he was required to return to Tihar Jail.
Arvind Kejriwal, according to the ED and CBI, was instrumental in the creation of Delhi’s new liquor excise policy, which enabled him to sell wholesale licenses and get payments. The authorities claim that a ‘South group’ headed by K Kavitha of the BRS provided almost ₹ 100 crore in kickbacks.
The authorities claim that the AAP utilized this money to pay for its election-related costs in Goa.
Mr. Kejriwal, the AAP, and other defendants have refuted the accusation, accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party—whose central government the agencies report to—of launching an offensive against opposition politicians and parties, especially before of elections.
