Excise policy scam: Supreme Court to hear on September 5 Arvind Kejriwal’s pleas against arrest by CBI

The Chief Minister has filed two separate petitions challenging the denial of bail and against his arrest by the CBI in the case

The AAP chief was arrested by the CBI on June 26, 2024. File | Photo Credit: PTI

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Thursday Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s petitions challenging the legality of his arrest by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), and for bail in the Delhi excise policy case.

A Bench headed by Justice Surya Kant has posted the case for September 5.

Mr. Kejriwal has argued that the CBI arrested him when he was on the “cusp of release” on money laundering charges in the same case. He said the CBI’s move was an “insurance arrest” designed to keep him behind the bars. The court had issued notice to the CBI but refused to grant him any interim relief.

In its response, the central agency countered that Mr. Kejriwal’s arrest was necessary due to his “evasive and non-cooperative” attitude to questions about his alleged role in the case. “It was necessary since he was to be confronted with the evidence on record,” the agency said in an affidavit.

The CBI said that though Mr. Kejriwal, as Chief Minister, did not hold any portfolio, critical decisions in the formulation of the now-scrapped excise policy were taken at his behest with the connivance of the then Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, who held the excise portfolio.

Published - September 04, 2024 07:25 pm IST