'Bail Or Jail For Arvind Kejriwal?': SC's Big Decision Today At 10:30 AM

The Supreme Court will deliver its verdict today(13th Sept) at 10:30 AM on Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s bail pleas and his challenge against the CBI arrest in the liquor policy case. Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan will preside over the judgment.

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[Delhi Excise Policy Case] SC to Deliver Verdict on Arvind Kejriwal's Bail Plea & Challenge Against CBI Arrest Today at 10:30 AM

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court is set to deliver its verdict on Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal‘s pleas seeking bail and challenging his arrest by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the alleged liquor policy scam case. The judgment will be pronounced by a bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan at 10:30 am, today(13thSept).

Arvind Kejriwal was first arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on March 21 in connection with a money laundering case linked to the liquor policy scam. Subsequently, the CBI arrested him on June 26 on charges of corruption. Despite the Supreme Court granting him bail on July 12, he remains in Tihar Jail due to his arrest by the CBI. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor had earlier challenged the Delhi High Court’s August 5 verdict that upheld his arrest in the corruption case.

“That is the question the Supreme Court will address this morning as it delivers its ruling on a plea from Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation in June in connection with the alleged liquor excise policy scam.”

-said a source close to the matter.

If the verdict favors Kejriwal, he will be released nearly six months after his initial arrest by the ED and two months after securing bail for that arrest. However, his release was hindered as he had been arrested by the CBI just weeks earlier, following the ED dropping its challenge related to the same case.

“Throughout various forums, including the Supreme Court in these petitions, senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, representing Mr. Kejriwal, has criticized the second arrest as an ‘insurance.’ He argues that it was intended to keep the AAP leader in jail and his party unsettled before the Delhi election in February.”

– noted an observer.

During the final hearing last week, Singhvi pointed out that his client had already satisfied the ‘triple test’ legal principle for bail, as the same court had granted him bail in the ED case. The CBI, however, has consistently cited what it believes is substantial evidence against Kejriwal, primarily derived from testimonies of ‘approvers’—former accused who have been pardoned or promised lesser sentences for testifying against the Chief Minister.

The agency, like the ED, asserts that Kejriwal played a pivotal role in drafting and approving the controversial November 2021 liquor excise policy, which was retracted eight months later. The court dismissed an appeal by the CBI stating that releasing Kejriwal now, after denial of relief by the High Court, would “demoralise” that forum.

ALSO READ: “Arvind Kejriwal Was Party to Criminal Conspiracy”: CBI | SC To Resume Hearing Kejriwal’s Plea Against CBI Arrest Today

“Don’t say that…”

-responded the bench of Justice Ujjal Bhuyan and Justice Surya Kant, who will deliver today’s verdict.

The court also expressed concerns over investigative agencies relying heavily on ‘approvers’ to build their cases. In releasing Telangana politician K Kavitha, another accused in this case, it noted-

“You have to be fair… a person who incriminates himself is made a witness? What is this fairness?”

The lead-up to this verdict saw the Supreme Court emphasizing the principle that “bail is the rule, jail is the exception,” a doctrine established in 1977 by Justice Krishna Iyer, especially in relation to cases under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, under which Kejriwal faces charges.

After Singh, Sisodia, Kavitha, Next Kejriwal?

Should Kejriwal secure bail now, he will be the fifth and most prominent opposition leader to be released after arrest in this case. Those released so far include his former deputy Manish Sisodia, AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh, K Kavitha, and AAP leader Durgesh Pathak.

The Supreme Court, in releasing these individuals, consistently noted that authorities cannot detain accused persons indefinitely without trial. In Sisodia’s case last month, the court termed the situation a “travesty of justice” and highlighted the violation of a citizen’s right to liberty.

“In April, while releasing Mr. Singh, the court questioned the arresting agency, the ED, about why he had been jailed for six months without trial. The court also noted that the ED had failed to recover any of the Rs. 2 crore he was alleged to have received as a bribe.”

-recalled a legal expert.

Similarly, last month, while granting bail to Ms Kavitha, the Supreme Court observed that the Bharat Rashtra Samithi leader could not remain in jail if the “likelihood of trial in near future is impossible.”

The Delhi liquor excise policy case revolves around allegations that Kejriwal and the AAP received kickbacks amounting to Rs.100 crore, including significant payments from a ‘South group’ led by Ms Kavitha, in exchange for the allocation of wholesale licenses. The ED and CBI allege that this money was utilized by the AAP to fund election campaigns, notably the 2022 Goa Assembly election.

Arvind Kejriwal and the AAP, along with Ms. Kavitha and her party, the BRS led by former Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, have strongly refuted all allegations. They accuse the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)—which federal agencies such as the ED and CBI are aligned with—of orchestrating a campaign against its critics and opposition leaders, particularly in the lead-up to elections.