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Informist, Thursday, Sep 5, 2024

 

NEW DELHI – The Supreme Court today reserved its order on Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's bail plea and his challenge to the Central Bureau of Investigation's arrest in the Delhi liquor policy case. 

 

Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for Kejriwal, said that the Delhi chief minister had got release orders three times in the money laundering case against him. Singhvi was referring to two orders of the Supreme Court granting Kejriwal interim bail in the Enforcement Directorate's probe in the same case, and one regular bail order from the trial court.

 

Singhvi termed CBI's arrest as "insurance arrest" as it was made on Jun 26 on the cusp of Kejriwal's release in the Enforcement Directorate case on Jul 12. Singhvi said that though the case was registered by the CBI in 2022, Kejriwal was not arrested for about two years. 

 

Further, Singhvi said that the evidence in the case was documentary in nature, and it was already collected by the agency and hence there was no risk of tampering with the evidence. Singhvi said that the arrest of Kejriwal by the CBI was not preceded by a notice under Section 41A of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Objecting to this, Additional Solicitor General S.V. Raju, appearing for CBI, said that a notice under Section 41A was not required as Kejriwal was already in custody.

 

Raju said that Kejriwal should have first approached the trial court for bail rather than going directly to the Delhi High Court. Raju said that co-accused in the case, Aam Aadmi Party leaders Manish Sisodia, Sanjay Singh and Bharat Rashtra Samithi leader Kalvakuntla Kavitha, had all first moved the trial court, but Kejriwal never went there in the CBI case. 

 

Further, Raju remarked that if the bail is granted to Kejriwal, it would be demoralising for the Delhi High Court, which had asked Kejriwal to move the trial court. "How is that demoralising? Don't say that! How can it be?," said the apex court. In earlier hearings, the CBI had said that Kejriwal was attempting to politically sensationalise the case and might influence witnesses when released on interim bail. Kejriwal was also likely to tamper with the evidence to be collected, and may hamper the ongoing investigation, the probe agency had said.

 

Both the Enforcement Directorate and the CBI are investigating the now-scrapped Delhi liquor policy. While the Enforcement Directorate is investigating the money laundering aspect of the case, the CBI is looking at irregularities. On Jul 12, the Supreme Court granted the Delhi chief minister interim bail in the Enforcement Directorate's probe in the same case and referred legal questions arising out of his petition challenging his arrest by the agency to a larger bench of the court. 

 

The Delhi government had announced an excise policy in November 2021, allowing private companies to distribute liquor in the national capital. Later, the policy was withdrawn after allegations of cartelisation and monopoly. Kejriwal was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on Mar 21 in connection with a money-laundering case stemming from the liquor policy case.

 

On Jun 26, the CBI arrested Kejriwal after the Rouse Avenue court permitted it to interrogate him in the case. Thereafter on Tuesday, the Rouse Avenue court issued summons to Kejriwal after taking cognisance of the fourth supplementary chargesheet filed by the CBI. In its fourth supplementary chargesheet, the CBI has alleged that Kejriwal was one of the main conspirators in the case. It claimed that the kickback money was spent according to Kejriwal's wishes as the entire money was sent in the funds of Aam Aadmi Party. The probe agency has said that Kejriwal promised 9 mln rupees to each candidate in the 40 constituencies during elections in Goa.  End

 

Reported by Surya Tripathi

Edited by Deepshikha Bhardwaj

 

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