TNFNew Delhi/ TNF
On Friday, September 13, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was released from Tihar Jail at around 6:15 PM, after spending 177 days in custody. The Supreme Court granted him bail earlier in the day in connection with the CBI investigation related to the Delhi liquor policy case. The court imposed the same conditions for bail that were set in the ED case.
Kejriwal expressed his relief, stating, “I was right, and that is why God supported me. Coming out of jail has increased my strength a hundredfold.”
Kejriwal faced cases from two investigative agencies, the ED and the CBI. He had been granted bail by the Supreme Court in the ED case on July 12. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) hailed this decision as a victory for truth.
Kejriwal was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on March 21 in the liquor policy case. Later, on June 26, the CBI also took him into custody.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjwal Bhuiyan reviewed the bail decision. While both judges agreed on the bail, they had differing views on the legality of the arrest.
Justice Surya Kant noted:
- Re-arresting someone already in custody for further investigation is not inherently wrong. The CBI explained the necessity of their investigation.
- The arrest was not illegal, and the CBI had followed the rules necessary for their probe.
Justice Ujjwal Bhuiyan remarked:
- The timing of the CBI’s actions raises questions, especially after Kejriwal received bail in the ED case. The timing of arrests in such situations should be scrutinized.
- The CBI needs to maintain impartiality and ensure that arrests are not arbitrary. The agency must dispel any notions of being a “caged parrot” in its operations.
Kejriwal was initially arrested by the ED on March 21 and sent to Tihar Jail on April 1 after 10 days of questioning. He was granted 21 days of interim bail on May 10 to campaign for the Lok Sabha elections, having spent 51 days in jail by then. He surrendered back to Tihar Jail on June 2.
With his release on September 13, Kejriwal has spent a total of 177 days in jail, including 21 days on interim bail. Thus, he has spent 156 days in actual custody.
