On Thursday, the Supreme Court of India reserved its order on the pleas filed by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. Kejriwal is seeking bail and challenging the Delhi High Court's decision that upheld his arrest by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with the alleged excise policy scam.
The court’s bench, comprising Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan, heard arguments from both sides before reserving the order. Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, representing the CBI, raised objections to Kejriwal’s approach to the courts.
Raju argued that Kejriwal should have first sought bail from the Sessions Court before appealing to the Delhi High Court. He described Kejriwal’s move as an attempt to bypass standard legal procedures, suggesting that his status as an influential political figure was leading him to seek exceptional treatment.
Raju also expressed concerns that granting bail to Kejriwal could lead to witness tampering, claiming that Kejriwal’s influence might cause witnesses to become hostile.
In response, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who is representing Kejriwal, argued that the Supreme Court had previously granted bail on two occasions, including a release in May for election campaigning and interim bail in a related Enforcement Directorate case.
Singhvi claimed that Kejriwal's recent arrest by the CBI, on June 26, was unprecedented and seemed like an "insurance arrest," given that no such arrest had occurred in the two years prior.
Singhvi argued that Kejriwal poses no threat to society and is not a hardened criminal. He asserted that the Chief Minister's arrest was unnecessary and claimed that Kejriwal’s influence had been overstated.
The Supreme Court is considering Kejriwal’s challenge to his arrest and his separate plea for bail. Earlier, the Delhi High Court had upheld Kejriwal's arrest as legal, stating that it followed sufficient evidence collection and necessary sanctions.
The High Court noted that Kejriwal’s arrest was crucial for allowing witnesses to come forward, as it was evident that the witnesses’ willingness to testify was influenced by the arrest.
Kejriwal was initially arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on March 21, 2024, in relation to a money laundering investigation concerning the Delhi excise policy for 2021-22. He was subsequently arrested by the CBI on June 26, 2024, while already in the Enforcement Directorate’s custody.
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