SC Adjourns Kejriwal's Bail Plea, No Relief Granted Until September 5

The Supreme Court postponed the bail plea hearing of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in excise policy case on Friday. The apex court bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan deferred the hearing till September 5, reported the Bar and Bench. 

Senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi is representing the Delhi CM in the case. After the Delhi High Court rejected to quash the arrest by CBI on August 5, Singhvi on behalf of Kejriwal directly approached the SC.  

Kejriwal filed two separate petitions - one seeks bail while the other challenges his arrest by the CBI. 

Meanwhile, the CBI told the SC that Arvind Kejriwal is politically sensationalising the case and likely to tamper with evidence if released. 

“Being a prominent politician and Chief Minister of Delhi, the Petitioner is very influential, and he may influence the witnesses and evidences already exposed before him during the custodial interrogation and also the potential witnesses. He would also likely tamper with the evidence to be further collected and may hamper the ongoing investigation,” said CBI as per a Bar and Bench report. 

The central investigating agency also highlighted in its argument that the actions of the Aam Aadmi party leader Manish Sisodia in the excise policy case were in “consultation with and at the behest of the Petitioner, the Chief Minister of Delhi.” Recently, on August 9, the SC granted bail to Sisodia in the same case. 

The AAP supremo Kejriwal was arrested on March 21 by the Enforcement Directorate in a money-laundering case in connection with the now-scrapped excise policy. The SC on May 10 granted interim bail to Kejriwal till June 1.  

“The Supreme Court had given me 21 days to campaign for the elections. The day after tomorrow I will go back to Tihar Jail. I don’t know how long these people will keep me in jail this time. But my spirits are high,” said Kejriwal before surrendering at a press conference.