Excise policy case: SC to hear Delhi CM Kejriwal's pleas against CBI arrest today

The Supreme Court will on Wednesday, 14 August hear a plea filed by Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal seeking release from jail in connection with the Delhi excise policy case, in which he is under investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

A bench of justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan will take up Kejriwal's two petitions, which have separately challenged the 5 August decision of the Delhi High Court affirming his arrest and denying him bail.

In his plea, filed two days after the top court granted bail to former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia in a related probe by CBI and the Enforcement Directorate (ED), the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Chief has challenged his arrest and subsequent remand orders, while also pressing for bail. Kejriwal, in the petitions filed on Monday, assailed the Delhi High Court's 5 August judgment, which ruled that his arrest was neither illegal nor without justifiable grounds because CBI presented "evidently enough evidence" to warrant his detention and remand.

His plea relied heavily on the Sisodia verdict, in which the top court held that the former Deputy CM's long incarceration of 17 months and his continued detention in a case where there was no hope of trial ending anytime soon impinged on his fundamental right to liberty and speedy trial under Article 21 of the Constitution.

The AAP Chief's petition argued that the grounds on which the court found it appropriate to release Sisodia on bail should equally apply to him.

Kejriwal's petition highlighted the top court's observations in the Sisodia case that prolonged incarceration without trial could amount to a violation of fundamental rights, particularly when the investigation is largely complete and the accused has deep roots in society, reducing the risk of absconding.

Kejriwal, through his plea, argued that he meets these criteria, much like Sisodia, and should therefore be granted bail on similar grounds. The petition gains significance in light of the Assembly elections in Delhi early next year.

As the incumbent CM and the party's most prominent leader, Kejriwal's presence is crucial for the AAP's campaign strategy.

With Kejriwal at the helm, the AAP has consistently positioned itself as a champion of Delhi's governance, focussing on issues such as education, healthcare, and affordable water and power.

Kejriwal has been in custody since 21 March following his arrest by ED, apart from a 21-day interim bail in May granted by the apex court for Lok Sabha election campaigning.

On 12 July, the apex court granted him interim bail in the ED case, acknowledging that he had spent over 90 days in incarceration. Still, he continued to remain in custody due to his arrest by CBI on June 26 in the same matter.

The case against the CM stems from allegations of irregularities in Delhi's now-scrapped excise policy of 2021-22, which CBI began probing following a recommendation by Delhi's Lieutenant Governor in July 2022. Kejriwal was the third AAP leader arrested in this connection.

Sisodia was incarcerated since February 2023 before he was released on 9 August, and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh was granted bail by the top court in April, after six months of custody.