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The Supreme Court on Thursday reserved its decision on two separate requests filed by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. These requests included seeking bail and challenging his arrest by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) related to the alleged excise policy "scam." The court heard arguments from both sides and thanked them for their assistance before reserving the judgment. The CBI was represented by the Additional Solicitor General, while Kejriwal was represented by a senior advocate. The Supreme Court was considering the legality of Kejriwal's arrest by the CBI and the denial of bail in the corruption case. The CBI had arrested the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief on June 26. Earlier, the Delhi High Court had upheld the legality of the Chief Minister's arrest, stating that the CBI demonstrated how Kejriwal could influence witnesses who only came forward after his arrest.

The person should have first sought bail from the lower court before approaching the Delhi High Court directly. Both the lower court and the High Court have the authority to grant bail under the Code of Criminal Procedure. The government lawyer argued that the person must first go to the lower court, as all other common people do, and cannot expect special treatment. The lawyer also pointed out that the person did not provide a copy of the chargesheet with the bail application, which could be considered concealment of information. The government lawyer described the person as highly influential and argued that releasing them could lead to tampering of evidence. The person's lawyer countered that it is not fair to send them back to the lower court at this stage, as the arguments were already considered during the remand and affirmed against them.

At this point, there is a significant delay as the matter has been heard on its merits. I am granting the right to appeal. The CBI should be the last one to complain. Singhvi alleged that the CBI did not arrest Kejriwal for two years after the alleged excise fraud came to light and that the "insurance arrest" took place on June 26 after he was granted bail in a "serious" money laundering case filed by the CBI. to the Enforcement Directorate (ED). ED). He noted that the CBI had not issued any notice to Kejriwal before his arrest and the trial court had issued a unilateral arrest warrant.

The CBI did not issue the Criminal Code. 41A. summons based on §, as he was already in judicial custody. Singhvi sought bail, insisting that the prime minister was a constitutional activist and not a flight risk. He noted that Kejriwal's name did not figure in the CBI's original First Information Report (FIR). The senior lawyer also noted that the Supreme Court, which had granted interim bail to Kejriwal in the money laundering case, had said that he was not a threat to society. Besides, other accused in the case include former Deputy Prime Minister Manish Sisodia, Aam Aadmi Party leader Vijay Nair and TRS leader K Kavitha, who have been released on bail. “The money laundering case that started in August 2021 led to his arrest in March this year,” he said, adding that the Supreme Court and the trial court have already granted him bail. On August 14, the Supreme Court refused to grant interim bail to Kejriwal in the case and asked the CBI to respond to its submissions. After the hearing, when Raju expressed concern that granting bail would displease the Delhi High Court, the bench assured him, “Don't say that. Whatever decision we make, we will make sure that nothing like this can happen.”