New Delhi: In a significant development for Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Arvind Kejriwal, the Supreme Court granted him bail on 13th September 2024 in the controversial excise policy case. However, a split in opinions between the two Supreme Court judges—Justice Surya Kant and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan—has drawn attention to the timing and necessity of Kejriwal’s arrest by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
Justice Ujjal Bhuyan raised serious concerns about the arrest’s timing, questioning why the CBI waited 22 months before taking such action. He pointed out that Kejriwal was granted bail in a related money laundering case involving the Enforcement Directorate (ED) just before the CBI’s arrest. Justice Bhuyan commented that keeping Kejriwal in detention after securing bail in the ED case would be “a travesty of justice.”
During the hearing, Justice Bhuyan highlighted the need for CBI to avoid arbitrary arrests, stating, “The premier investigative agency should not be seen making arrests without due cause.” He added that perceptions of the CBI as a “caged parrot” must change, and the agency should work to dispel any such notions by operating impartially.
While Justice Surya Kant found no illegality in Kejriwal’s arrest, Justice Bhuyan stressed that the CBI’s sudden urgency, after a long period of inaction, was unjustified. “The CBI didn’t feel the need to arrest the appellant for nearly two years. Why the sudden urgency now?” he questioned. Bhuyan further underscored that since Kejriwal had already been granted bail under stringent provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), his further detention was “wholly unacceptable.”
The bench’s verdict followed Kejriwal’s challenge to an earlier Delhi High Court ruling, which had dismissed his petition challenging the CBI’s arrest and seeking bail. Friday’s Supreme Court decision has brought significant relief to Kejriwal and his party, with AAP leaders expressing optimism as their chief secured bail in the high-profile case.
This ruling also highlights the ongoing scrutiny over the actions of investigative agencies, particularly the CBI, as they continue their probes into high-profile figures.
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