The Supreme Court is set to deliver a crucial verdict on the bail plea of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today, potentially making him the third prominent leader from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to be released in connection with the alleged liquor policy scam. Arvind Kejriwal’s plea challenges his arrest by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the excise policy case, a case that has already seen AAP leaders Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh arrested.
A bench of the Supreme Court, comprising Justice Surya Kant and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan, will deliver the verdict at 10:30 am. The bench had reserved its judgment on September 5. Arvind Kejriwal, the AAP national convenor, was arrested by the CBI on June 26, following his custody by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a related money laundering case.
Earlier, on July 12, the Supreme Court had granted Arvind Kejriwal interim bail in the ED case. However, his bail did not result in his release from prison, as he remained in Tihar Jail due to the separate arrest by the CBI. Arvind Kejriwal’s petition challenging his arrest by the ED was referred to a larger bench.
If the Supreme Court grants him bail today, Arvind Kejriwal would become the fourth high-profile figure to walk out of jail in connection with the liquor policy case, following in the footsteps of AAP leaders Manish Sisodia, Sanjay Singh, and Vijay Nair, as well as Bharat Rashtra Samithi’s K Kavitha.
During the hearings, senior lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing Arvind Kejriwal, argued that the CBI had arrested the Chief Minister just as he was on the verge of being released from ED custody. Singhvi termed the arrest an “insurance arrest” and claimed that the CBI had not presented any substantial material to justify his detention, labeling the grounds for the arrest as vague.
The CBI, however, countered these arguments by alleging that a significant portion of the kickbacks from the excise policy scam was used to fund AAP’s campaign in the Goa Assembly elections in 2022.
Arvind Kejriwal has been in custody since April 1 and had approached the Delhi High Court for bail, which was rejected. His next move was to petition the Supreme Court. If the Supreme Court rules in his favor, it will mark a significant moment in the ongoing case surrounding the excise policy that the AAP government had implemented in November 2021 but withdrew eight months later following allegations of corruption.
