Excise policy case: Supreme Court reserves order on Kejriwal’s bail plea, against arrest by CBI

The Supreme Court on Thursday (September 5) deferred its decision on Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s bail applications, challenging his arrest by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with the alleged excise scam.

A bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan concluded the hearing after considering the arguments of Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, representing the CBI, and senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for Kejriwal.

“Thank you for your support. Judgment reserved,” the court said after the arguments had concluded.

On August 23, the court allowed the CBI to file its counter affidavit and granted Kejriwal two days to file a reply.

Kejriwal’s petitions were directed against the denial of bail and his arrest by the CBI. He challenged the Delhi High Court’s August 5 verdict upholding his arrest. The Supreme Court had earlier ruled that the arrest was lawful and justified, pointing out that the CBI’s actions were based on evidence pointing to Kejriwal’s possible influence on witnesses.

Kejriwal was arrested by the CBI on June 26. The Supreme Court had on August 14 rejected his application for interim bail and asked the CBI to respond to his application.

In a similar case, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had arrested Kejriwal on March 21. He was granted bail by a court on June 20, but the bail was stayed by the Supreme Court. On July 12, the Supreme Court granted him interim bail in the money laundering case.

The alleged irregularities relate to the Excise Policy of 2022, which was scrapped following an inquiry ordered by the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi. CBI and ED allege that the changes in the policy favoured certain licence holders, leading to corruption.

With contributions from PTI