New Delhi:

Bail or no bail? That is the question the Supreme Court will answer this morning as it rules on a plea by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal following his arrest by the Central Bureau of Investigation in June, in the alleged liquor excise policy scam.

Should it rule in his favour, Mr Kejriwal will be released nearly six months after he was first arrested – by the Enforcement Directorate – and two months after getting bail for that arrest.

The Aam Aadmi Party boss could not leave then – on July 12 – as he had been arrested by the CBI just a few weeks earlier, after the ED dropped its challenge, in connection with the same case.

In various forums since, including in the Supreme Court in this round of petitions, senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for Mr Kejriwal criticised that second arrest as an “insurance”, arguing it was designed to keep the AAP leader in jail, and his party on edge, before February’s Delhi election.

Last week, in the final hearing before the court withdrew to decide, he pointed out his client had already satisfied the ‘triple test’ legal principle for bail, since the same court had given him bail in the ED case.

READ | Big Supreme Court Relief For Arvind Kejriwal In Delhi Liquor Policy Case

The CBI has repeatedly pointed to what it believes is a mountain of evidence against Mr Kejriwal, most of which is drawn from testimony of ‘approvers’, i.e., former accused who have been pardoned, or will receive lesser sentences, for testifying against the Chief Minister.

The agency, like the ED, believes Mr Kejriwal played a key role in drafting and clearing the controversial November 2021 liquor excise policy, which was withdrawn eight months later.

The court, though, waved away an appeal by the CBI – that releasing Mr Kejriwal now, after he had been denied relief by the High Court – would “demoralise” that forum. “Don’t say that…” a bench of Justice Ujjal Bhuyan and Justice Surya Kant, who will deliver today’s verdict, had said.

READ | “Don’t Say…”: Top Court On CBI’s Argument Against Bail For Kejriwal

It did, however, express concern over agencies seeming to rely on ‘approvers’ to make their case; in releasing Telangana politician K Kavitha, another accused in this case, it noted “You have to be fair… a person who incriminates himself is made a witness? What is this fairness?”

READ | “What Is This ‘Fairness’?” Top Court To Agencies In Liquor Policy Case

The run-up to this verdict has also seen the Supreme Court highlight the ‘bail is the rule, jail is the exception’ principle, laid down in 1977 by Justice Krishna Iyer, in connection with other cases under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, under which Mr Kejriwal faces charges.

The court has previously also reasoned that provisions for bail in the PMLA – under Section 45 of the law, which sets out two additional conditions for release – cannot overturn the primacy of an individual’s right to liberty. The note has been interpreted by many to mean there can be no argument to deny bail to a money-laundering accused, assuming other conditions are met.

After Singh, Sisodia, Kavitha, Next Kejriwal?

If he does get bail now, Mr Kejriwal will be the fifth, and most high-profile, opposition leader to leave jail after being arrested in this case. Three of those released so far are his former deputy, Manish Sisodia, AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh, and K Kavitha. The fifth was AAP leader Durgesh Pathak.

The three big names were released by the Supreme Court, which noted, in each case that authorities could not hold accused persons in prison indefinitely and without trial; in Mr Sisodia’s case last month the court called out the “travesty of justice” and flagged violation of a citizen’s right to liberty.

READ | “Travesty Of Justice”: Sisodia Gets Bail, Supreme Court Slams Delay

In April, while releasing Mr Singh, the court asked the arresting agency, the ED, why he had been jailed for six months without a trial and also pointed out it had failed to recover any of the Rs 2 crore he allegedly received as a bribe.

READ | “Just Because Woman Is Educated…”: Top Court As K Kavitha Gets Bail

Also last month, while releasing Ms Kavitha, the Supreme Court, once again, observed the Bharat Rashtra Samithi leader could not remain in jail if “likelihood trial in near future is impossible”.

Delhi Liquor Policy Case Explained

The Delhi liquor excise policy case involves allegations that Mr Kejriwal and the AAP received kickbacks of Rs 100 crore, including significant payments from a ‘South group’ led by Ms Kavitha, for allotment of wholesale licences. The ED and CBI believe this money was then used by the AAP to fund election campaigns, including that for the 2022 Goa Assembly election.

NDTV Explains | In Liquor Case, 193 Cr Profits, Kickback For AAP, Says ED, CBI

Arvind Kejriwal and the AAP, and Ms Kavitha and her party, the BRS of former Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, have denied all charges, and counter-accused the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, to whom federal agencies like the ED and CBI report, of mounting a campaign against its critics and opposition leaders, particularly before elections.

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New Delhi:

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has petitioned the Supreme Court challenging his arrest by the CBI in the corruption case linked to the alleged liquor policy scam.

The special leave petition filed before the top court challenges the August 5 decision of the Delhi High Court dismissing Chief Minister Kejriwal’s plea against CBI arrest and subsequent remand.

On Monday, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi mentioned the matter before CJI DY Chandrachud for urgent listing.

At this, CJI Chandrachud asked the senior counsel to send an email to the registry. “Send an email, I will examine it,” the CJI said.

In its impugned decision, a bench of Justice Neena Bansal Krishna of the Delhi HC said that it cannot be said that the arrest was without any justifiable reasons or was illegal.

The Delhi High Court is yet to pronounce its decision on a bail plea filed by the AAP supremo in connection with the CBI case and recently, reserved its verdict on July 29. Earlier that day, the CBI filed its charge sheet before a special court here against the AAP supremo and other accused.

The Enforcement Directorate had already filed its prosecution complaint in the money laundering case, naming the AAP and its national convenor Arvind Kejriwal as accused.

On July 12, the Supreme Court ordered Chief Minister Kejriwal to be released on interim bail in connection with the money laundering case lodged by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). However, he was not able to walk out of jail since he was arrested by the CBI.

Meanwhile, a court here extended the judicial custody of Chief Minister Kejriwal, till August 20 in the excise policy case.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

The Supreme Court will today deliver its verdict on Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s plea challenging his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money-laundering case.

A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta, which reserved its verdict on the plea on May 17, will pronounce the judgment.

Mr Kejriwal, also the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief, was arrested on March 21 by the ED in a money laundering case linked to the alleged Delhi liquor policy scam.

ALSO READ | Arvind Kejriwal Used Part Of “Liquor Scam” Kickbacks, Claims ED, AAP Refutes

He has challenged the April 9 order of the Delhi High Court that had upheld his arrest in the case.

The high court had upheld the 55-year-old politician’s arrest in the case, saying there was no illegality about it and that the central probe agency was left with “little option” after he skipped repeated summonses and refused to join the investigation.

The Supreme Court had on April 15 sought a response from the central probe agency on his plea challenging his arrest.

Arvind Kejriwal was earlier granted 21-day interim bail by the Supreme Court on May 10 to campaign for the Lok Sabha polls. He was directed to surrender on June 2, a day after the last phase of the seven-phased elections was scheduled to end.

He was then granted bail by a trial court in Delhi on June 20 in the case. However, the ED moved the Delhi High Court the next day and contended that the trial court’s order granting him bail was “perverse”, “one-sided” and “wrong-sided” and that the findings were based on irrelevant facts.

The high court on June 21 imposed an interim stay on the trial court’s bail order till the passing of an order on ED’s application for interim relief. The high court on June 25 also passed a detailed order staying the trial court order.

ALSO READ | Victim Of Witch-Hunt, Falsely Implicated: Arvind Kejriwal In Delhi High Court

Five days later, he was arrested by the Central Bureau Of Investigation (CBI) in connection with the corruption case related to the alleged liquor policy scam.

The Delhi Liquor Policy Case

The central probe agencies have claimed that irregularities were committed while modifying the Delhi government’s excise policy for 2021-22 and that undue favours were extended to licence holders.

The Delhi government brought in a new policy for liquor sellers in the national capital in November 2021. The Kejriwal-led government, as part of the new policy, stopped government outlets from selling liquor and allowed private parties to apply for licence to run stores.

It said the policy would help stop black marketing, increase the Delhi government’s revenue, and benefit customers.

The Delhi government, however, later scrapped the new liquor policy and reverted to the old one.

New Delhi:

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will today challenge the Delhi High Court’s stay on the bail granted to Arvind Kejriwal in the Supreme Court. This decision comes after the trial court had previously granted bail to Mr Kejriwal on June 20 in connection with the alleged Delhi excise policy scam, only for the High Court to stay the bail order on Tuesday.

The trial court, in its June 20 decision, had ordered Mr Kejriwal’s release on a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh. However, a vacation bench of Justice Sudhir Kumar Jain of the Delhi High Court stayed the trial court’s order, criticising it for not adequately considering the material presented by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and for not allowing the sufficient opportunity for the agency to argue its case.

High Court’s Criticism

Justice Jain remarked that the trial court had failed to properly evaluate the evidence against Mr Kejriwal presented by the ED. “We disagree with the Delhi High Court order. We will challenge it in the Supreme Court,” AAP said in a statement. 

Delhi Cabinet Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj, when asked about the High Court’s decision at a press conference, expressed skepticism and indicated that AAP’s legal team would strategise the next steps. “A High Court bench stayed the order of the lower court without even the order getting uploaded. I did not have any hope from the High Court. I think the High Court bench was prejudiced. We will approach the higher court,” Mr Bharadwaj said.

The Delhi excise policy, which was scrapped in 2022, has been under scrutiny following allegations of irregularities and corruption in its formulation and execution. Both the CBI and ED allege that undue favours were extended to license holders and that there were significant irregularities in the policy’s implementation.

AAP’s Response

Mr Kejriwal was questioned by the CBI in Tihar Jail on Monday and Tuesday, each session lasting over an hour.

AAP leader Sanjay Singh accused the BJP of conspiring with CBI officers to allegedly frame Mr Kejriwal in a “fake case.” In a video message, Mr Singh alleged that the BJP-led Centre was attempting to manipulate the legal process to target Mr Kejriwal.

“We have learnt from reliable sources that the BJP-led Centre has hatched a conspiracy with CBI officers at a time when there is a huge possibility of Kejriwal getting bail from the Supreme Court. They have planned to frame him in a fake case by the CBI and get him arrested. The entire country is watching the atrocities of the BJP. How will one get justice in such circumstances? People will stand up against this,” Mr Singh said.

New Delhi:

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was questioned by the Central Bureau of Investigation twice this week in the alleged liquor policy case. Mr Kejriwal was questioned on Monday by the central probe agency and then again on Tuesday in the Tihar jail for more than an hour.

The Aam Aadmi Party chief is currently in jail in connection with an Enforcement Directorate’s money laundering case arising from the alleged liquor policy case. The Delhi liquor policy 2021-22 was scrapped after the Delhi lieutenant governor ordered a CBI probe into alleged irregularities and corruption involving its formulation and execution.

The questioning of Mr Kejriwal comes just a day ahead of a Supreme Court hearing of the AAP petition against the Delhi High Court order staying the bail granted to the Chief Minister by a trial court.

The trial court had granted bail to Mr Kejriwal on June 20 and ordered his release on a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh. The high court stayed the trial court order on Tuesday, saying the Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court – “didn’t apply its mind” when granting bail and pointed to what it said were lapses in judgement.

The AAP, meanwhile, alleged a conspiracy involving CBI officers to frame Mr Kejriwal in a “fake case” and get him arrested. The CBI has rejected the accusations.

The Enforcement Directorate or ED had arrested Mr Kejriwal on March 21, shortly after the Delhi High Court refused to grant him protection from arrest on his petition challenging summonses issued to him.

On May 10, the Supreme Court granted interim bail to Mr Kejriwal till June 1 to campaign in Lok Sabha elections, saying he will have to surrender and go back to jail on June 2. He has been in jail ever since.

The ED and the CBI have alleged the Delhi government’s liquor policy for 2021-22 allowed cartelisation and favoured certain dealers who paid bribes for licenses. The AAP has strongly denied the charge.

New Delhi:

In a setback for Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi High Court paused his release order in a corruption case related to the Delhi Liquor Policy until Enforcement Directorate’s petition is heard. The ED today challenged Mr Kejriwal’s bail in the case, just hours before his release from Tihar jail.

The ED mentioned its petition challenging the trial court order for an urgent hearing before a bench of Justices Sudhir Kumar Jain and Ravinder Dudeja, which said the case file will come to it in 10-15 minutes and after that it will hear the matter.

The high court said till then the trial court order shall not be acted upon.

Mr Kejriwal’s wife, Sunita Kejriwal, and Aam Aadmi Party leaders had planned to visit Tihar Jail at 4 pm today to greet the Delhi Chief Minister.

Yesterday, a Delhi court ordered Mr Kejriwal’s release on a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh but imposed certain conditions before granting him the relief, including that he would not try to hamper the investigation or influence the witnesses. The court had accepted Mr Kejriwal’s argument that the probe agency hasn’t presented enough evidence since arresting the Delhi Chief Minister on March 21.

The bail came after multiple rounds in trial courts where Arvind Kejriwal has been repeatedly denied bail. He hasn’t stepped down as Delhi Chief Minister despite calls from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party for his resignation.

In May, the Supreme Court had issued interim bail to Mr Kejriwal for election campaigning. He returned to prison two days before the results were declared.

The ED arrested Mr Kejriwal over money laundering allegations while framing the Delhi liquor policy for 2021-22, which was later scrapped after the Lieutenant Governor raised red flags. The ED has alleged the money Mr Kejriwal got from the liquor sellers was used to fund the party’s campaign in Goa since he is the convenor of the AAP.

New Delhi:

The Supreme Court will not hear Arvind Kejriwal’s request seeking a 7-day extension of his interim bail in a corruption case linked to the Delhi liquor policy. The Court last month granted interim bail to Mr Kejriwal to campaign for the Lok Sabha elections and had asked him to surrender on June 2, a day after the last leg of polling.

The Supreme Court registrar, while refusing the plea, said that the Delhi Chief Minister was given permission to move trial court for regular bail, and hence this petition is “not maintainable”.

Mr Kejriwal had sought an extension on medical ground and requested the court for an urgent hearing today.

“In view of health complications and increased risk signs, a medical examination is necessary to protect him from possible long-term harm to during his prison term,” senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who is representing Mr Kejriwal, said in the petition. He had also stressed that the AAP leader will remain “visible and available in public” while out on bail.

“There is no risk of fleeing the legal process and conditions set by Supreme Court (for interim bail) have been followed…” Mr Singhvi said.

The probe agency believes the Delhi Chief Minister played a key role in drafting the now-scrapped policy and seeking bribes, or kickbacks, in return for liquor licences. The agency has claimed the AAP received kickbacks of Rs 100 crore that was then used to fund its Goa and Punjab election campaigns.

The AAP and Mr Kejriwal have refused all charges and called the arrest and case “political vendetta”, coming as it did, weeks before the election. The arrest also triggered a political spat between the ruling BJP and the opposition INDIA bloc, which is led by the Congress and of which the AAP is a member.

New Delhi:

Opening a new chapter in the country’s jurisprudence, the Enforcement Directorate has, for the first time, named a political party as an accused in a case. 

In a supplementary chargesheet filed in the Rouse Avenue court in the alleged liquor policy scam on Friday, the Enforcement Directorate has named the Aam Aadmi Party – a national political party – and its national convenor, Arvind Kejriwal, who is out on interim bail in the case. The agency is probing the money laundering angle of the alleged scam. 

The agency is probing the money laundering angle of the alleged scam and this is the eighth chargesheet it has filed in the case, but the first in which the Delhi chief minister has been named. Mr Kejriwal was arrested on March 21, becoming the third senior AAP leader to be taken into custody in the alleged scam, after his former deputy Manish Sisodia and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh. 

Sources said the decision to name the AAP as an accused can have major repercussions for the party. The Enforcement Directorate, they said, now has the option of writing to the Election Commission of India and requesting them to begin the process of derecognising the Aam Aadmi Party. It can also attach the party’s assets, including its headquarters in Delhi. 

The development comes at a time when the AAP finds itself embroiled in a controversy surrounding its Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal, who has alleged that she was slapped and kicked by Mr Kejriwal’s aide Bibhav Kumar at the chief minister’s residence on Monday, when she was waiting to meet the AAP chief.

The development comes at a time when the AAP has found itself embroiled in a controversy surrounding its Rajya Sabha MP, Swati Maliwal, who has alleged that she was slapped and kicked by Mr Kejriwal’s aide, Bibhav Kumar, at the chief minister’s residence on Monday, when she was waiting to meet the AAP chief.

The allegations have kicked up a political storm and the AAP has faced attacks from various quarters, including from Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. An alleged video from the day has also led to Ms Maliwal and the AAP trading charges. Earlier on Friday, a Delhi Police team, accompanied by forensic specialists, had visited Mr Kejriwal’s residence as part of its investigation into Ms Maliwal’s complaint. 
 

Arvind Kejriwal Bail Hearing LIVE Updates:

The Supreme Court is expected to give its verdict today on interim bail to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who was arrested in a money laundering case and is seeking a release from jail to campaign for the ongoing Lok Sabha polls.

A bench, comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta, had reserved its verdict on Mr Kejriwal’s interim bail on May 7.

Mr Kejriwal, the national convenor of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), was arrested on March 21 by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case linked to the alleged liquor policy scam. He is currently lodged in Tihar jail under judicial custody.

Earlier Tuesday, a Delhi court extended his judicial custody till May 20.

Here are the LIVE updates on Arvind Kejriwal’s bail hearing:

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Arvind Kejriwal’s Interim Bail Live: Probe Agency’s Affidavit In Supreme Court

In its affidavit filed in the Supreme Court on Thursday, the ED pointed out that, while hearing the bail plea of former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia — a co-accused in the same Delhi liquor policy case — the court had said that the laws apply equally to all citizens and institutions, including the State.

Stating that Arvind Kejriwal had sought interim bail primarily for campaigning in the Lok Sabha elections, the agency submitted, “It is relevant to note that the right to campaign is neither a fundamental right nor a constitutional right and not even a legal right.”

The agency also argued that 123 elections have taken place in the past five years and if interim bail is granted to Mr Kejriwal for campaigning, then no politician can be kept in judicial custody since polls take place around the year.

Arvind Kejriwal’s Bail Live: Probe Agency ED Opposes Arvind Kejriwal’s Bail

The probe agency ED has filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court opposing Arvind Kejriwal’s petition. It said that laws are equal for all and that campaigning for the Lok Sabha polls is not a fundamental, constitutional, or even a legal right.

The central agency also said that no political leader has ever been granted bail for campaigning and that letting Mr Kejriwal, the national convenor of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), out of jail to canvas for his party candidates would set a wrong precedent.

Arvind Kejriwal Bail Live: Supreme Court Had Reserved Its Verdict On May 7

A Supreme Court bench, comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta, had reserved its verdict on interim bail of Arvind Kejriwal on May 7.

The bench reserved its decision after hearing the arguments put forth by senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, who appeared for Mr Kejriwal, and Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, who appeared for the Enforcement Directorate.

The bench has divided the hearing on Mr Kejriwal’s petition against his arrest into two parts. His main petition challenges his arrest by the probe agency and seeks it to be declared as “illegal”. The second aspect pertains to the grant of interim bail keeping in mind the ongoing Lok Sabha polls.

Arvind Kejriwal Bail Hearing LIVE: Supreme Court’s Verdict On Arvind Kejriwal’s Bail Likely Today
The Supreme Court is likely to give its order today on interim bail to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. Mr Kejriwal was arrested in a money laundering case and is seeking a release from jail to campaign for the ongoing Lok Sabha polls.