Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal walks out of jail in Delhi excise policy case

SC grants bail to CM with riders; boost for AAP ahead of Haryana, Delhi polls

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday evening walked out of Tihar Jail after the Supreme Court (SC) observed that his arrest by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the excise policy case was unjustified.

The SC Bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan granted him bail, with riders that were same as the ones that the court had put on him while granting him bail in the Enforcement Directorate case on July 12. These conditions are that Kejriwal cannot visit the office of the CM and Delhi Secretariat and he cannot sign official files unless it is required and necessary for obtaining clearance or approval of Delhi’s Lieutenant Governor. He is not allowed to comment on his role in the present case or interact with any witnesses in the case.

In a separate concurring judgment granting Kejriwal bail, Justice Bhuyan said the CBI must dispel the notion of being a caged parrot. The judge also stated he has “serious reservations” about two of the bail conditions, but didn’t express his views on it to maintain “judicial discipline”.

Justice Bhuyan’s reference to a “caged parrot” was reminiscent of a similar statement by Justice R M Lodha in 2013. While hearing a matter regarding alleged irregularities in the allocation of coal block licences, better known as the ‘Coalgate’ case, to private companies during the UPA-II years, Justice Lodha had referred to the CBI as a “caged parrot” and “its master’s voice”.

Recently, other Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders, including former deputy CM Manish Sisodia, Kejriwal’s aide Bibhav Kumar, and party’s former communications in-charge Vijay Nair, have got bail in their respective cases. In April, AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh was released in the excise policy case. Kejriwal’s release would help the AAP’s Haryana Assembly poll campaign. It has also come five months before the Delhi Assembly polls in mid-February. The Delhi government had in its 2024-25 Budget in March promised to launch its CM Mahila Samman Yojana, to deposit Rs 1,000 monthly allowance in bank accounts of eligible women, from October.

Kejriwal was arrested in connection with the ED’s probe in the excise policy case on March 21. On May 10, the SC granted him interim bail until June 1 to campaign for Lok Sabha polls. Kejriwal returned to jail on June 2, and spent 103 days in prison before his release on Friday. After his release, Kejriwal, along with hundreds of supporters, took out a roadshow across Delhi amid a drizzle. In his first remarks after his release, Kejriwal said his incarceration has strengthened his resolve to fight “anti-national” forces working to weaken the nation.

In his judgment, Justice Bhuyan questioned the timing of Kejriwal’s arrest by the CBI and said its aim was to frustrate the grant of bail to him in the ED case. “In a functional democracy governed by the rule of law, perception matters. Like Caesar’s wife, an investigating agency must be above board. Not long ago, this court has castigated the CBI, comparing it to a caged parrot. It is imperative that CBI dispels the notion of it being a caged parrot. Rather, the perception should be that of an uncaged parrot,” he said.

Justice Bhuyan noted that the CBI case was registered on August 17, 2022, but did not feel the need and necessity to arrest Kejriwal for over 22 months. It was only after the Special Judge granted regular bail to the appellant in the ED case that the CBI activated its machinery and took the appellant into custody, he said. Leaders of the INDIA bloc welcomed Kejriwal’s release. The BJP demanded that Kejriwal should resign.