The Supreme Court has granted bail to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the case filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation pertaining to the 2021-22 Delhi excise policy.
Kejriwal is now set to walk out of jail as he had been granted interim bail in July in the money laundering case registered by the Enforcement Directorate. He had challenged the Delhi High Court’s verdict on 5 August that had upheld his arrest by CBI, calling it “legal”
Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan gave separate opinions in the case Friday, while jointly agreeing that the Delhi chief minister should get regular bail.
Justice Kant said that the basic principle behind his decision was the “issue of liberty”, which is “integral to a sensitised judicial process”.
“Prolonged incarceration amounts to unjust deprivation of liberty,” he said. He also asked Kejriwal not to make any public comment on the merits of the case.
In his judgment, Justice Bhuyan concurred with Justice Kant and observed, “As far as grounds of arrest are concerned, these would not satisfy the necessity of arrest. CBI can’t justify arrest and continue detention citing evasive replies. Accused can’t be compelled to make an inculpatory statement.”