New Delhi: The Supreme Court of India has recently said that it has kept the judgment on the bail petition of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal regarding the alleged scam in the high-profile Delhi excise policy case pending. The case that has received much attention involves Kejriwal and other individuals who were charged with corruption charges relating to the violation of the Delhi excise policy.
But on Thursday, a division bench of justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan also heard detailed arguments from the parties involved. Solicitor General S. V. Raju, during the hearing of the CBI case, rejoined Kejriwal’s bail petition, contending that it was not maintainable in the Delhi High Court as it should have directly gone to the Supreme Court. Explaining this, Raju pointed out that, by the provision of section 439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), the trial court has the overall jurisdiction to handle the bail applications before an appeal to the other higher courts.
In the CBI’s view, Kejriwal was guilty of amending prematurity since the agency had succeeded in putting him under judicial custody without coercively informing him under Section 41 A of the CrPC relating to arrest and bail. However, Raju pointed out that this procedural step was not done but since Kejriwal was already apprehended at that point.
On the other hand, the respondents, Kejriwal’s defence under the guidance of senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, were of the view that the appellant, as a CM and a constitutional functionary, cannot be termed a flight risk. Singhvi claimed that it was an insurance arrest following the arrest in May after the Supreme Court had entered an interim bail order for the accused. He described the CBI’s actions as ‘trigger-happy’ despite no warrant situs sui, the case starting in August 2023, and the arrest of Kejriwal coming in March of the year 2024. Singhvi also added that even the Apex Court, as well as the trial court, has granted bail in the past to Kejriwal, which establishes that there was no reason to detain him.
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