Supreme Court reserves order in Arvind Kejriwal’s pleas for bail, against CBI arrest

Arvind Kejriwal bail plea verdict: Senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for the Delhi CM, highlighted the only justification given by the CBI for the arrest was Mr. Kejriwal’s alleged non-cooperation.

The Supreme Court on Thursday (September 5, 2024) reserved its order in the petitions filed by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal seeking bail and quashing of arrest in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) case linked to the Excise policy scam.

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan heard arguments put forward by Additional Solicitor General S V Raju, representing the CBI, and senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for Kejriwal.

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Mr. Kejriwal told the Supreme Court that the CBI did not arrest him for nearly two years in the alleged Excise policy scam after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) first registered the case in August 2022, and an 'insurance arrest' was made on June 25 after he got bail in the "harsher" money laundering case filed by the ED.

Mr. Singhvi said that no notice was served to Mr. Kejriwal by the CBI before arrest and an ex-parte arrest order passed by the trial court.

“During the two-year period, the only significant development is a statement from co-accused Magunta Reddy made in January,” the senior counsel said.

Mr. Singhvi further said that the only justification given by the CBI for the arrest is Mr. Kejriwal’s alleged non-cooperation. “There are Supreme Court judgements affirming that a person is not required to self-incriminate,” he added. He submitted that the Delhi CM was a constitutional functionary and not a flight risk.