Supreme Court Reserves Judgement On Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal’s Bail Plea; Key Updates

New Delhi: In a significant decision on Thursday, the Supreme Court has reserved judgement order on Delhi CM Arvind Krjriwal’s bail. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan heard arguments put forward by Additional Solicitor General S V Raju, representing the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), and senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for Kejriwal, as per a report by news agency PTI.

“Thank you for the assistance. Judgment reserved,” the bench said after the lawyers concluded their arguments.

Kejriwal has filed two separate petitions challenging the denial of bail and against his arrest by the CBI in the the corruption case filed by the central agency. The AAP chief was arrested by the CBI on June 26.

The Delhi High Court had on August 5 upheld the arrest of the chief minister as legal, and said there was no malice in the acts done by the CBI which was able to demonstrate how the AAP supremo could influence witnesses who could muster the courage to depose only after his arrest.

The excise policy was scrapped in 2022 after the Delhi lieutenant governor ordered a CBI probe into alleged irregularities and corruption involving its formulation and execution. According to the CBI and the ED, irregularities were committed while modifying the excise policy and undue favours extended to licence holders.

AAP Benefitted From Illicit Funds: CBI

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has alleged that the Aam Aadmi Party benefited from the illicit funds generated through the criminal conspiracy in the Excise Policy case. The CBI claims that as the National Convenor and Overall In-Charge of AAP, Arvind Kejriwal is responsible for this.

The CBI in its supplementary charge sheet, stated that the investigation has revealed that Arvind Kejriwal was involved in the criminal conspiracy related to the formulation and implementation of Delhi’s Excise Policy from the outset.

It is alleged that he had a pre-conceived plan to privatize the Excise Policy and sought monetary support for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in March 2021, during the policy’s formulation by the Group of Ministers (GoM) led by co-accused Manish Sisodia. Additionally, Kejriwal’s close associate, Vijay Nair, who is in charge of Media and Communication for AAP, allegedly approached various stakeholders in the Delhi Excise Business, demanding illegal gratification in exchange for favourable adjustments to the Excise Policy.

(With inputs from agencies)