Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was granted bail by the Supreme Court on Friday after spending six months in jail in connection with the liquor policy case. The decision was made by two judges, Justice Surya Kant and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan, who had different opinions.
Justice Surya Kant said that keeping Kejriwal in jail for so long was unfair and took away his freedom, but he also said that the arrest itself was legal. On the other hand, Justice Ujjal Bhuyan felt the arrest by the CBI was not right and was unjustified.
The case is about alleged kickbacks that Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders are said to have received when they introduced the Delhi excise policy for 2021-22, which has now been canceled.
On March 21, 2024, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in a money laundering case connected to the Delhi excise policy. Kejriwal had avoided nine summonses from the ED, calling them “illegal.”
On May 10, 2024, ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the Supreme Court gave Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal temporary bail until June 1, when the final phase of voting took place. The court told him to surrender by that deadline.
On June 2, 2024, after the elections, Kejriwal turned himself in at Tihar Jail. He had been granted bail for the election period.
Later, on June 26, 2024, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested Kejriwal while he was already in jail for another case with the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The CBI focused on investigating corruption and bribery related to the liquor policy case, while the ED looked into the money laundering part.
On July 12, 2024, the Supreme Court granted him bail in the ED case, questioning whether his March arrest was valid. However, Kejriwal remained in jail under the CBI’s arrest in the corruption case.
On August 5, 2024, the Delhi High Court supported the CBI’s decision to arrest Arvind Kejriwal and told him to apply for regular bail in the trial court.
A week later, on August 12, 2024, Kejriwal approached the Supreme Court to challenge the Delhi High Court’s decision that approved his arrest by the CBI.
On September 5, 2024, after hearing the arguments from both Kejriwal’s lawyer and the CBI, the Supreme Court decided to take some time before giving its final decision on his bail request related to the excise policy case.
On September 13, 2024, the Supreme Court granted Kejriwal bail in the CBI case. He had already been granted bail in the ED case earlier. However, the court ordered that Kejriwal could not enter the Chief Minister’s office or sign any official documents. It also required him to post a bail bond of Rs 10 lakh.