'We Aren't Granting Interim Bail' : Supreme Court Issues Notice On Arvind Kejriwal's Bail Plea In CBI Case

The Supreme Court on Wednesday (August 14) issued notice on the petition filed by Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal seeking bail in the case registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation in connection with the alleged Delhi Liquor Policy scam.

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan also issued notice on another petition filed by Kejriwal challenging the arrest by the CBI. The matters will be heard next on August 23.

Senior Advocate Dr.AM Singhvi submitted that Kejriwal got interim bail on three occasions in the money laundering case despite the stringent rigors of Section 45 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act(PMLA). He referred to the interim bail orders passed by the Supreme Court on May 10 and July 12 and also the regular bail passed by the trial court in the PMLA case on June 20. It was stated that the June 20 order of the trial court was stayed by the Delhi High Court on an "oral mention".

Singhvi wondered when Kejriwal got bail under the stringent provisions of PMLA, how could he be denied regular bail in the CBI case since the Prevention of Corruption Act does not have stringent conditions similar to the money laundering law. He termed the arrest by the CBI an "insurance arrest", which was made on June 26 on the cusp of Kejriwal's release in the ED case.

When Singhvi pointed out that Kejriwal has also sought interim bail, Justice Kant said, "We are not granting any interim bail." The senior counsel requested the shortest date next week, saying that Kejriwal was facing health issues. Accordingly, the bench posted the matter next week, on August 23.

Kejriwal's latest petition before the Supreme Court, filed through Advocate-on-Record Vivek Jain, challenges the Delhi High Court order of August 5, whereby his plea against CBI arrest was dismissed by a Single Judge bench with liberty to approach the trial Court for bail.

The AAP chief was formally arrested by CBI on June 26, 2024, while he was in custody of the Enforcement Directorate in the money laundering case arising out of the alleged liquor policy scam.

Weeks later, on July 12, the Supreme Court granted Kejriwal interim bail in the money laundering case, while referring his petition challenging ED arrest to a larger bench. However, he continued to remain in judicial custody due to his arrest by the CBI.

Challenging the CBI arrest and seeking bail, Kejriwal moved the Delhi High Court. On August 5, Justice Neena Bansal Krishna dismissed his plea challenging CBI arrest, but insofar as bail was concerned, liberty was given to approach the trial Court. Aggrieved by the High Court order, Kejriwal approached the Supreme Court. For more details about the Delhi High Court proceedings (in the CBI case), click here.

Background

Kejriwal was arrested by ED on March 21, after the Delhi High Court refused to grant him interim protection earlier in the day. He remained in custody thereafter, until the Supreme Court granted him the benefit of interim release (for the purposes of Lok Sabha elections) on May 10. The same expired on June 2.

The Delhi CM had initially approached the Delhi High Court challenging ED's arrest. However, his plea was dismissed on April 9. Aggrieved by the same, he moved the top Court, which issued notice on his plea on April 15.

The eventful hearings in the case witnessed Singhvi lead arguments on behalf of Kejriwal. Besides questioning the necessity and timing of the leader's arrest, the senior counsel alleged that ED withheld material favoring him.

Throughout the proceedings, ED's case remained that there was "direct" evidence to show that Kejriwal demanded Rs. 100 crores, which went to AAP for Goa election expenses. It was further asserted that apart from vicarious liability as the head of AAP, Kejriwal was also directly liable as the person who played a key role in formulating the excise policy.

At the time when the parties were heard on the question of interim bail to Kejriwal, the bench questioned ED's timing of arrest, noting that the ECIR was registered in August, 2022, but Kejriwal came to be arrested about 1.5 years later (before elections). Ultimately, the interim relief was granted and Kejriwal temporarily released from jail.

Thereafter, on June 20, the Delhi CM came to be granted bail in the ED case by a Delhi Court, based on a view that ED failed to give any direct evidence against him in respect of the proceeds of crime.

This order was stayed by the Delhi High Court on June 25, with an observation that the Vacation Judge passed it without going through ED's entire material and the same reflected “perversity”. On the very same day, CBI arrested Kejriwal in connection with the liquor policy case.

On July 9, a Delhi Court took cognizance of the 7th supplementary prosecution complaint filed by ED, which names Kejriwal and the Aam Aadmi Party.

On July 12, Kejriwal was granted interim bail by Supreme Court in the ED case, while his petition challenging arrest was referred to a larger bench to examine the question whether the need or necessity of arrest must be read as a condition into Section 19 PMLA.

Case Title: Arvind Kejriwal v. Central Bureau of Investigation, SLP(Crl) No. 11023/2024 (and connected case)