Excise policy case: SC refuses Delhi CM’s plea for interim bail, issues notice to CBI

The Supreme Court on Wednesday sought the response of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) regarding the plea submitted by jailed Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. The plea seeks to quash his arrest by the agency in relation to the Delhi excise policy case and to secure his release on bail.

A Bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan declined to grant interim bail but scheduled the matter for hearing on August 23. “We are not granting any interim bail. We issue notice,” the Court stated.

Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing Kejriwal, asked for the matter to be heard the following week. The Court confirmed, “List on August 23.”

Previously, the Delhi High Court had on August 5 denied Kejriwal’s plea and directed him to seek bail from the trial court. This decision prompted Kejriwal to appeal to the Supreme Court.

Kejriwal was arrested by the CBI on June 26 while in judicial custody for a money laundering case being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), related to the same scam. Kejriwal and other Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders are accused of forming a criminal conspiracy to manipulate the Delhi Excise Policy to benefit certain liquor sellers. Investigative agencies claim that the funds from this scheme were used to finance AAP’s election campaign in Goa.

Kejriwal was initially arrested by the ED on March 26 but later received interim bail from the Supreme Court in the ED case. However, he remains in jail as he has not yet been granted bail in the CBI case.

Kejriwal had filed two separate petitions with the High Court—one seeking bail and another challenging his arrest by the CBI. The High Court rejected the petition to quash the arrest, with Justice Neena Bansal Krishna stating there were sufficient grounds for Kejriwal’s arrest. While the Court did not rule on the merits of the bail application, it advised Kejriwal to approach the trial court.

Kejriwal has now challenged both these decisions in the Supreme Court. In his bail plea, he argues that the High Court failed in its duty by deferring the matter to the trial court, despite having concurrent jurisdiction to decide the bail request.

The Supreme Court recently granted bail to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister, Manish Sisodia, in connection with the same case. The Court had expressed concern that High Courts and trial courts often “play it safe” by routinely denying bail in criminal cases, instead of treating bail as the norm.