Will Arvind Kejriwal walk out of Tihar today? SC verdict on 2 pleas likely

Delhi liquor policy case: Arvind Kejriwal might receive interim bail from the Supreme Court on Friday. The court is also likely to pronounce verdict on his plea challenging the arrest by CBI

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal could receive interim bail from the Supreme Court on Friday following his arrest by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with the ongoing investigation into the alleged Delhi liquor policy scam.

For context, Kejriwal has already got bail on his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). Both central agencies are running parallel probes into the case for allegations of corruption by public servants and money laundering. The top court had granted Kejriwal an interim bail on July 12 but he remained lodged in Tihar due to his arrest by the CBI.

 

Friday’s order is anticipated days after the court reserved its verdict on two petitions by Kejriwal, on September 5. Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, appearing for CBI, objected to Kejriwal for not approaching the trial court for bail. The Aam Aadmi Party chief had directly moved to the Delhi High Court for his bail plea without approaching the trial court first.

On August 5, the Delhi High Court rejected Kejriwal’s plea challenging CBI arrest. Today, the Supreme Court will pronounce its verdict on Kejriwal’s plea against the HC order upholding his arrest and his bail petition.

Arrested on March 21, Kejriwal had been given a brief interim bail relief ahead of the Lok Sabha polls in May. He surrendered back to Tihar Jail in Delhi on June 2 after his 21-day relief expired.

Why SC may favour Kejriwal’s case?

In the past month, the top court has granted two important bail orders in the same case. AAP leader Manish Sisodia and BRS leader K Kavitha, both of them were granted bail by the Supreme Court, which had used very strong words at the time of Sisodia’s hearing on August 9.

It had noted that Sisodia, who spent 1.5 years in jail, was denied the right to a speedy trial and had observed the significance of the principle: ‘Bail is the rule, jail is the exception’.

What is the Delhi liquor policy case?

The case is connected to an investigation into the implementation of the now-scrapped 2021-22 Delhi liquor policy, formulated by the Kejriwal government. The central agencies are examining whether there was potential bribery involved in the policy's formulation to benefit certain businessmen, labelled as ‘south group’.