Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal gets bail in excise policy case

A Delhi court granted bail to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday in the money laundering case linked to the alleged liquor policy scam. Vacation Judge Nyay Bindu of Rouse Avenue Courts issued the order after reserving it earlier in the day.

The ED’s special counsel Zoheb Hossain requested a stay of the order until the agency could exercise its legal options, but the court denied the request.

Kejriwal was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on March 21. He was granted interim bail by the Supreme Court in May until June 1 due to the general elections and surrendered on June 2.

ASG SV Raju, representing the ED, argued that co-accused Chanpreet Singh received large sums of cash from entrepreneurs and paid hotel bills for Kejriwal. Raju emphasised that the ED’s investigation was based on concrete evidence, not speculation.

Raju further claimed that co-accused Vijay Nair, who had no official role in forming the excise policy, acted as a middleman for Kejriwal, demonstrating a close relationship between the two.

In response, Senior Advocate Vikram Chaudhari, representing Kejriwal, pointed out that Kejriwal is not an accused in the CBI case and has only been called as a witness. Chaudhari questioned the timing of Kejriwal’s arrest and the credibility of the evidence presented by the ED, arguing that it was politically motivated.

Chaudhari also argued that the ED’s allegations lacked substantial proof and questioned the validity of witness statements, suggesting they were influenced by the agency. He criticised the ED for presuming guilt based on limited and unrelated evidence.

The court previously dismissed Kejriwal’s plea for interim bail on medical grounds, stating his active election campaigning indicated he did not suffer from a serious ailment. The ED recently filed a supplementary chargesheet naming Kejriwal and the Aam Aadmi Party as accused.

The Delhi High Court had earlier dismissed Kejriwal’s plea challenging his arrest, stating the ED provided sufficient material linking Kejriwal to the alleged scam. The ED has alleged that Kejriwal was the “kingpin” of the scam, with the excise policy designed to benefit certain private companies, coordinated by Vijay Nair and others.