 "Arvind Kejriwal has been granted bail by the Supreme Court in the corruption case by the CBI related to the Delhi liquor policy 'scam'. File Photo/PTI")
In a big boost for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) ahead of the Assembly polls in Haryana, its convenor and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has got bail in the alleged Delhi excise policy scam. On Friday (September 13), the Supreme Court granted bail to the AAP leader in the case filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in relation to corruption charges in the now-scrapped liquor policy case.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan granted relief to Kejriwal on certain conditions, a bail bond of Rs 10 lakh, and two sureties. The Delhi chief minister has been imprisoned for the last six months.
Let’s take a look at Arvind Kejriwal’s bail saga.
What’s the Delhi liquor policy case?
The Kejriwal-led government introduced a new liquor policy in November 2021 to remove the government from the business of selling alcohol, allowing only private liquor shops to run in Delhi.
With the new policy, the government said it wanted to end the liquor mafia and black marketing, increase government revenue, and provide a better customer experience.
However, the policy was scrapped nearly a year later and the government brought the old liquor policy back on 1 September 2022.
This came after Delhi Lieutenant Governor (LG) Vinai Kumar Saxena recommended a CBI probe into the alleged irregularities in the implementation of the new excise policy.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) also registered a case in the alleged scam to probe the money laundering allegations. The central agency alleged that the AAP collaborated with a “South Group” under which the latter funded the Kejriwal-led party’s Goa election campaign.
The so-called group was to recover this money through the liquor businesses it runs in the National Capital, as per the ED.
The agency issued multiple summonses to Kejriwal, all of which he skipped, calling them “illegal”. In February this year, the ED approached the magisterial court against the Delhi CM for evading summons.
In March, the court issued a summon to Kejriwal on the central agency’s fresh complaint against him. He secured bail on two complaints filed by the ED against him for skipping its summonses.
Kejriwal moved the Delhi High Court against the ED’s summonses but the court refused to grant him protection from coercive action. On March 21, the central agency arrested the Delhi CM on money laundering charges under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2022 (PMLA).
He was sent to judicial custody in Tihar jail on 1 April, where he has been since. Senior AAP leaders Manish Sisodia, who was the head of the excise department when the new policy was implemented, and Sanjay Singh were also jailed in the case. Both are currently out on bail.
Kejriwal gets bail twice
The AAP chief has got bail thrice in the liquor policy case before and once he even walked out of jail.
In March, Kejriwal moved the Delhi HC against his arrest by the ED. However, his petition was dismissed early next month and the Delhi CM had to approach the apex court.
During the hearing, the ED told the Supreme Court that Kejriwal was “guilty” of money laundering. The apex court questioned the Delhi CM’s absence before the central agency for recording statements despite repeated summons.
On May 10, the top court granted interim bail to Kejriwal until 1 June for campaigning in the Lok Sabha elections. While granting him the relief, the Supreme Court said that “interim bail for 21 days will not make much of a difference. 21 days here or there should not make a difference."
The top court directed the Delhi CM to surrender on June 2. It also noted that Kejriwal does not have any criminal antecedents and is not a “threat” to society.
Kejriwal walked out of jail that month and surrendered at Tihar jail after the interim bail ended on June 1.
On June 1, a Delhi court reserved the order on the interim bail plea moved by Kejriwal on medical grounds. The Rouse Avenue Court eventually denied him interim bail.
The trial court granted him regular bail on June 20. However, the ED moved the Delhi High Court a day later against Kejriwal’s bail. The HC halted the relief order until it heard the case.
On June 26, the CBI arrested Kejriwal in a corruption case linked to the alleged excise policy “scam” under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1998 (PC Act). This came while he was in judicial custody in the money laundering probe by the ED.
The same day, the Delhi CM withdrew his petition from the Supreme Court challenging the High Court’s interim stay on bail granted by the trial court.
On July 12, the Supreme Court granted interim bail to the AAP chief, questioning the legality and necessity of his arrest by the ED in the Delhi excise policy case. However, Kejriwal remained in jail due to arrest in the CBI case.
The relief in the case filed under PMLA was significant as the legislation contains special, more stringent bail conditions.
Kejriwal then directly moved the Delhi High Court for bail instead of approaching the trial court. On August 5, the High Court upheld the CBI’s decision to arrest the chief minister. Refusing to grant bail, the court asked him to approach the trial court first.
The final bail saga unfolds
Kejriwal approached the Supreme Court on August 12 against the Delhi HC’s order. He filed two separate pleas – one challenging the legality of his arrest by the CBI and the other seeking bail.
The top court heard the matter at length before reserving its decision on September 5.
Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing the Delhi CM, argued that Kejriwal had already received bail on three different occasions. As pe_r Indian Express,_ he said this was “possibly the only case” where a person got bail under the PMLA with more strict bail conditions but was rejected bail for the predicate offence.
Additional Solicitor General (ASG) SV Raju, who appeared for the CBI, said the AAP convenor should have moved the trial court for bail instead of the Delhi HC. While both the High Court and Sessions Court can grant bail to an accused of a non-bailable offence, the ASG argued the High Court has stated several times that the individual should first go to the lower court unless there are “exceptional” circumstances.
He said in Kejriwal’s case, the only exceptional circumstance was that he was a chief minister.
Today, the Supreme Court granted bail to Kejriwal in the corruption case by the CBI. In his judgement, Justice Bhuyan raised questions on the necessity and timing of the arrest by the central agency. He said the CBI arrest was only to “frustrate bail” granted in the ED case. As per Bar and Bench, Justice Bhuyan said the CBI should “dispel the notion of being caged parrot”.
The AAP has hailed the verdict as a “victory of truth”. In a post on X, the party wrote, “Satyamev Jayate.”
Former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, tweeted, “Today truth won again in the fight against lies and conspiracies. I once again pay my tribute to the thinking and foresight of Baba Saheb Ambedkar ji, who 75 years ago had strengthened the common man against any future dictator.”
Kejriwal’s release from the Tihar jail is a big deal for the AAP as it prepares for the elections in Delhi and Haryana.
Reacting to the bail, the BJP has called for Kejriwal’s resignation as Delhi chief minister. Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters in Delhi, BJP national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia said, “The Supreme Court has shown a mirror to ‘kattar beimaan’ (outright dishonest) Arvind Kejriwal while granting bail to him. He should immediately resign after this.”
Kejriwal is expected to walk out of jail after 3.30 pm today.
With inputs from agencies