New Delhi: Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal moved the Supreme Court on Monday with a plea to be released from jail in connection with the Delhi excise policy case, where he is under investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Challenging his arrest and the remand orders, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief sought bail as he assailed the Delhi high court’s August 5 judgment that ruled that Kejriwal’s arrest was neither illegal nor without justifiable grounds because the CBI presented “evidently enough evidence” to warrant his detention and remand.
Chief Justice of India Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud asked senior counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi and CU Singh to send an email request after they mentioned the matter for an urgent listing.
The plea was filed two days after the Supreme Court granted bail to former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia in the excise policy cases probed by the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate (ED). While releasing Sisodia on bail by its order on August 9, the top court held that his long incarceration of 17 months coupled with his continued detention in a case where there is no hope of trial ending anytime soon impinge on his fundamental right to liberty and speedy trial under Article 21 of the Constitution.
Kejriwal has been in custody since March 21 following his arrest by the ED, apart from a 21-day interim bail in May granted by the top court for Lok Sabha election campaigning. On July 12, the Supreme Court granted interim bail to Kejriwal in the ED case, acknowledging that he had spent over 90 days in incarceration. Still, he continued to remain in custody due to his arrest by the CBI on June 26 in the same matter.
The case against the chief minister stems from allegations of irregularities in Delhi’s now-scrapped excise policy of 2021-22, which the CBI began probing following a recommendation by Delhi’s lieutenant governor in July 2022. Kejriwal was the third AAP leader arrested in this connection. Sisodia was incarcerated since February 2023 before he was released on August 9, and Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh was granted bail by the top court in April after six months of custody.
