In a big relief for Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, the Supreme Court has granted him bail in the corruption case by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), in connection with the the alleged excise policy scam. Justice Surya Kant, in his judgement, said Kejriwal shall be released on furnishing a bail bond of Rs 10 lakh and 2 sureties of like amount. He also imposed a condition that CM shall not make public comments on the merits of the CBI case.
What did the SC Bench say? While both judges unanimously decided to grant bail to Kejriwal, Justice Ujjal Bhuyan differed from Justice Kant regarding the CBI arrest and said it was only to “frustrate bail” granted in the Enforcement Directorate (ED) case. Kejriwal had filed two petitions, one challenging the denial of bail and another against the upholding of his arrest by the CBI in the case.
The case so far: Kejriwal was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on March 21 in a money laundering case linked to the now-scrapped excise policy. On June 26, the CBI formally arrested him in a corruption case linked to the alleged scam. The Supreme Court had granted him interim bail in the money laundering case on July 12 and he is currently in judicial custody in the CBI’s corruption case. Of the 40 accused in the cases linked, only two —Kejriwal and businessman Amandeep Singh Dhall — remain behind bars.