THE JHARKHAND STORY DESK
New Delhi, September 13: The Supreme Court has delivered its verdict on the bail plea of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who is imprisoned in connection with the Delhi liquor scam. The bench, comprising Justice Surya Kant and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan, has granted bail to Kejriwal, though under certain conditions, in the corruption case filed by the CBI.
He will be required to appear before the trial court and is prohibited from contacting witnesses. Additionally, Kejriwal will not be allowed to visit his office or sign any documents. The court has also barred him from making public comments on the case.
Despite both Supreme Court judges unanimously granting bail, they disagreed on the legality of Kejriwal’s arrest by the CBI.
Justice Surya Kant stated that extended imprisonment constitutes “unjust deprivation of liberty” but deemed Kejriwal’s arrest legal and free from procedural flaws. In contrast, Justice Ujjal Bhuyan disagreed, arguing that the CBI’s arrest of Kejriwal was “unjustified.”
Earlier, on September 5, the Supreme Court had reserved its verdict after hearing arguments from both sides. Eight days later, on Friday, the court granted bail to Kejriwal. Following the court’s decision, Kejriwal is expected to be released from jail after approximately 156 days.
ED arrested Kejriwal on March 21 and CBI arrested him on June 26
It is worth mentioning that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested Arvind Kejriwal on March 21 from his official residence in connection with the Delhi liquor scam. After 10 days of interrogation, he was sent to Tihar Jail on April 1.
Following this, Kejriwal sought bail from the Supreme Court to campaign for the Lok Sabha elections. The court granted him bail on May 10, allowing him to campaign for 21 days, until June 1. On June 2, Kejriwal surrendered.
Subsequently, on June 26, the CBI arrested him from Tihar Jail. In response, Kejriwal filed two petitions in the Supreme Court challenging his arrests by the ED and CBI. The Supreme Court granted him interim bail in the ED case on July 12, however, he remained in Tihar Jail as was is in judicial custody in the CBI case.
Delhi HC rejected petition against CBI arrest on Aug 5
On August 5, the Delhi High Court deemed Kejriwal’s arrest justified and upheld it.
The court had stated that the CBI’s actions were not motivated by malice and that it had demonstrated how the AAP supremo could influence witnesses, who only mustered the courage to testify after his arrest.
