No Relief For Arvind Kejriwal As Delhi HC Upholds CBI Arrests, Dismisses Bail Plea

The Delhi High Court on Monday dismissed jailed Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s plea challenging his arrest by CBI in alleged liquor policy scam.

Delhi High Court disposed his interim bail plea with liberty to approach the trial court

Source : PTI Images

The Delhi High Court on Monday dismissed jailed Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s plea challenging his arrest by CBI in alleged liquor policy scam. The high court also dismissed the interim bail plea with liberty to approach the trial court.

"It cannot be said that the arrest was without any justiciable reason. So far as bail application is concerned it is disposed of with liberty to approach the trial court," the high court ruled.

A bench of Justice Neena Bansal Krishna dismissed the interim petition filed by Kejriwal challenging his arrest by the CBI.

Last week, the Delhi High Court had reserved verdict in a regular bail petition filed by the jailed Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the Excise Liquor policy case. The verdict on regular bail is yet to be announced.

The CBI opposed bail for Kejriwal and said that it has filed the final chargesheet and it is ready to begin the trial. CBI's counsel argued that Kejriwal is the head of cabinet and he signed the New Excise Policy. However, Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi appearing for Kejriwal said that just by signing if Kejriwal becomes mastermind then LG VK Saxena also signed the policy, he should also be impleaded in the case. However, CBI's counsel said that Singhvi was trying to sensationalise the matter.

The Delhi High Court on July 17 had reserved verdict on Kejriwal's interim bail plea and challenge to arrest by CBI. This verdict was pronounced today.

The counsel appearing for CBI told the high court that Arvind Kejriwal is the mastermind behind the alleged Delhi Liquor Policy case as he was the one who appointed ministers and members of the secretariat which includes the main accused Vijay Nair.

There are certain circumstances in which bail can be heard directly by the High Court, but the High Court cannot become the first court for hearing of bail, the counsel for CBI argued.

CBI further told the court that a money trail of Rs 44 crores has been established and that money was used in Goa elections.

Singhvi however argued that most of the statements in the case are based on hearsay. In the previous hearing, Singhvi appearing for Kejriwal had called the CBI arrest an insurance arrest. He had argued that after CBI realised that Kejriwal will walk out in the PMLA case by the Enforcement Directorate, they arrested him from Tihar Jail, where he was already jailed.

Kejriwal has been granted interim bail by the Supreme Court in the Delhi Liquor Policy case by the ED. He is now jailed in the CBI case against him