Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was on Friday granted bail by the Supreme Court in a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) case linked to Delhi’s now-withdrawn excise policy that had faced severe criticism and corruption allegations. Kejriwal had filed two petitions in the court, challenging his arrest and seeking bail in the CBI case.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan heard the case and granted bail to the Chief Minister on a bail bond of Rs 10 lakh, and two sureties. The bail bonds were later accepted by the court, which issued Kejriwal’s release order.
During the previous hearing, on September 5, the bench had reserved the judgment in the case.
While granting bail, the Supreme Court directed Kejriwal not to make any public comment on the merits of the case and added that terms and conditions as imposed in the Enforcement Directorate (ED) case would also be applicable in this case too.
The court said that Kejriwal cannot visit his office or the Delhi Secretariat and not sign any official file unless absolutely necessary to obtain the Lieutenant Governor’s sanction.
It said completion of the trial was unlikely to occur in the immediate future and rejected the apprehension of tampering by Kejriwal.
While Justice Kant held there were no procedural irregularities in Kejriwal’s arrest, Justice Bhuyan questioned the Chief Minister’s arrest and said the CBI should not be perceived as making arrests in a high-handed manner. Justice Bhuyan also said the Chief Minister’s arrest by the CBI was only to frustrate the bail granted to him in the money laundering case.
However, both the judges were unanimous in the decision to grant bail to Kejriwal considering the fact that the chargesheet has been filed in the case and that the trial is unlikely to be completed in the near future.
While pronouncing the judgment, Justice Kant held that it was valid and in compliance with relevant procedural laws.
“There is no impediment in arresting a person who is already in custody for another case for purposes of investigation. The CBI in their application has noted why the arrest was necessary and since there was a judicial order. There was no violation of Section 41(A)(3) of the Code of Criminal Procedure,” he said.
“When a Magistrate has issued a warrant, the investigating agency stands absolved from giving any reason for the same,” Justice Kant said. “We have held that appellant arrest does not suffer from any procedural flaw. Thus arrest is valid,” he added.
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