The Supreme Court on Friday granted bail to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the case registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy.
After being granted interim bail in the money laundering case filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), the AAP supremo can finally walk out of jail.
Justice Surya Kant ruled that the long-term imprisonment of Kejriwal constituted an “unjust deprivation of liberty” but maintained the legality of the arrest, concluding that there were no procedural irregularities. Justice Ujjal Bhuyan, on the other hand, believed that Kejriwal’s detention by the CBI was “unjustified.”
However, as part of the bail conditions imposed, the apex court prohibited Kejriwal from visiting the Delhi Secretariat or the Chief Minister’s office. Additionally, he was instructed not to address the case’s merits in public.
Describing CBI as the ‘premier probe agency of the country’, Justice Bhuyan said that the agency must be seen to act above-board.
“Every effort should be seen that arrest is not made in a high-handed manner, especially in a democracy. The CBI should work to lose the perception that it is a “caged parrot”. It should be in fact seen as an “uncaged parrot”, he said.
Asserting that Kejriwal is “a constitutional functionary, cannot be a flight risk,” senior advocate A.M. Singhvi argued during the proceedings that there is no possibility of evidence tampering because it is documentary in nature and has already been gathered by the central agency.
On March 21, the ED arrested the AAP supremo in relation to a money laundering case involving the Delhi excise policy. The CBI then arrested him on June 26 in connection with a corruption investigation involving the alleged scheme.
The CBI’s corruption case prevented him from being released from jail, even though the top court on July 12 granted him interim bail in the money laundering case.
Also Read: AMC Slaps Rs 50k Fine on ITC Narmada After Insect Found in Meal
