On September 5, 2024, the Supreme Court reserved its decision on Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s requests for bail and his challenge to the Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) arrest in the excise policy case.
Previously, on August 14, the court had denied Kejriwal’s plea for interim bail, postponing the matter to allow the CBI time to file a counter affidavit. The CBI argued that Kejriwal’s arrest was justified due to his “evasive and uncooperative” responses regarding his alleged involvement in the case and claimed he could not be compared with his co-accused due to his unique role.
Kejriwal’s lawyer, senior advocate A.M. Singhvi, highlighted that the CBI did not arrest Kejriwal for two years after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) initiated the case in August 2022, with his arrest occurring only on June 25 while he was already in judicial custody from the ED case.
Additional Solicitor General S.V. Raju pointed out that unlike former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and BRS leader K Kavitha, Kejriwal did not undergo the same bail process through the trial court, High Court, and Supreme Court.
Kejriwal was initially detained by the ED on March 21 following a denial of his plea for interim protection from arrest by the Delhi High Court. Although the Supreme Court granted him interim bail in the ED case on July 12, he remains in custody due to his subsequent CBI arrest. He was taken into CBI custody on June 26 and later remanded to judicial custody on June 29.
