NEW DELHI: In a significant development, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal received a major reprieve on Friday as the Supreme Court granted him interim bail in the Delhi excise case.
The Court noted that Kejriwal had already been incarcerated for over 90 days and acknowledged his status as an elected representative while granting him relief.
A two-judge bench of the Supreme Court, led by Justice Sanjiv Khanna, granted interim bail to Kejriwal and referred his petition challenging his arrest and remand by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the excise case to a larger bench.
During the proceedings, which spanned four days and concluded on May 17, the bench reviewed written records and asked the ED, the investigating agency, to provide evidence supporting the arrest of Kejriwal following the arrest of former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia.
The ED, in response, informed the apex court that it had formally named Kejriwal and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) as accused in the Delhi excise policy case, presenting alleged chats between Kejriwal and hawala operators related to proceeds of crime. These purported chats were reportedly recovered after Kejriwal declined to provide his device passwords.
“We now have direct chats between Arvind Kejriwal and hawala operators in the case,” said Additional Solicitor General S V Raju, representing the ED.
Following the completion of arguments, the Supreme Court granted all parties one week to submit additional documents in the case. Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for Kejriwal, countered the ED’s claims, arguing that the new evidence cited by the ED had not been present during Kejriwal’s initial arrest.
It is pertinent to note that the same bench, led by Justice Khanna, had earlier granted interim bail to Kejriwal until June 1, instructing him to surrender thereafter.
The ED had alleged that there was direct evidence linking Kejriwal to a demand for Rs 100 crore in kickbacks, purportedly for AAP’s election expenses in Goa. Raju also asserted that Kejriwal, as a significant figure in formulating the excise policy, bore direct responsibility for the alleged wrongdoing.
Kejriwal, through his counsel, had moved the Supreme Court challenging the Delhi High Court’s dismissal of his plea against the ED’s arrest and remand. The ED justified Kejriwal’s arrest, claiming he was the mastermind and primary conspirator in the Delhi liquor scam.
On March 22, a trial court had remanded Kejriwal to six days of ED custody, subsequently extending it to judicial custody. The Supreme Court’s interim bail granted relief to Kejriwal until June 1.
In the plea before the Supreme Court, Kejriwal had maintained his innocence in the liquor scam case, alleging that his arrest soon after the Model Code of Conduct was a deliberate attempt to tarnish his image and weaken his political party.
