New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday granted bail to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the excise policy case.
A bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan pronounced the verdict, while observing that he satisfied the triple condition for the grant of bail.
Underlining the issue of liberty and speedy trial, Justice Kant observed: “A developed jurisprudence on bail is needed for a developed society and prolonged incarceration of accused while trial is on cannot be justified and it has been held in judgments of this court.. the court would bend towards liberty when trial is derailed.. After have discussed article 21.”
Justice Bhuyan also concurred with him on the issue of granting regular bail to the Delhi CM. “Bail is the rule, and jail an exception. All courts must ensure that the prosecution and the process of trial doesn’t become a form of punishment in itself,” he said, while questioning the CBI for the urgency to arrested the Delhi CM when “he was on cusp of release in ED case”.
Kejriwal will now walk out of jail nearly six months after being first arrested by the Enforcement Directorate and later by the CBI.
The top court had reserved the verdict on September 5 after hearing counsels representing Kejriwal and CBI. During the case hearing, Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, appearing for CBI, objected to Kejriwal for not approaching the trial court for bail.
Kejriwal had directly approached the Delhi High Court for bail and then moved the apex court.
The ED arrested the Delhi CM on March 21 in connection with a money laundering probe relating to alleged irregularities in the now-cancelled Delhi excise policy 2021-22. On June 26, he was arrested by CBI while he was in the custody of the Enforcement Directorate in the excise case.
The Delhi government had come up with an excise policy in 2021-22 aiming to revitalise the city’s flagging liquor business by replacing the sales-volume-based regime with a license fee for traders, and promised swankier stores, free of the infamous metal grilles, ultimately giving customers a better buying experience. However, the policy was scrapped after Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena sought a CBI probe into the policy alleging irregularities.
According to ED, the Kejriwal-led AAP received kickbacks to the tune of Rs 100 crore to finalise the excise policy. It was also alleged that a large chunk of this money was used by the party in its Goa election campaign.
