GG News Bureau
New Delhi, 14th August. The Supreme Court today declined to grant interim bail to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in connection with a corruption case involving the national capital’s now-scrapped liquor policy. The court has asked for a response from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) regarding Kejriwal’s bail application and has scheduled the matter for further consideration on August 23.
Senior Advocate Abhishek Singhvi, representing Kejriwal, described the situation as “strange,” pointing out that the Chief Minister had previously been granted interim bail in a Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) case on May 10, and again by the Supreme Court in July. Singhvi argued that the recent CBI arrest, which came nearly two years after the case’s registration, was legally unsustainable and suggested it was an example of “insurance arrest.”
Singhvi criticized the timing of Kejriwal’s arrest, labeling it as a move driven by mala fide intentions. Despite these arguments, the Supreme Court refused to grant interim relief, with the bench stating, “Don’t say interim bail, we will not give interim bail.”
Previously, on August 5, the Delhi High Court upheld the legality of Kejriwal’s arrest, finding no malice in the CBI’s actions and noting that the agency had sufficiently demonstrated Kejriwal’s potential to influence witnesses. The Delhi Liquor Policy, introduced in November 2021, was rescinded in September 2022 amid allegations of corruption. The Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena had mandated a CBI investigation into the policy, which led to claims by the CBI and Enforcement Directorate of irregularities and undue favors to license holders.
Alongside Kejriwal, other top Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders, including Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh, have also been arrested in relation to the liquor policy case but are currently out on bail. The AAP has condemned the allegations as politically motivated, accusing the ruling BJP of vendetta.
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