New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has moved the Supreme Court challenging his arrest by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the Delhi excise policy case.
Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing Kejriwal, mentioned the matter for urgent listing before a bench led by the Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud. The CJI said that he will examine the e-mail request and assign a date.
Kejriwal moved the apex court against the Delhi High Court order of August 5. The high court dismissed his plea against the CBI arrest and set him at liberty to approach the trial court for bail.
Kejriwal has been in custody since March 21 following his arrest by the ED. He secured a 21-day interim bail in May, which was granted by the top court for campaigning in the Lok Sabha election. On July 12, the apex court granted interim bail to Kejriwal in the ED case, acknowledging that he had spent over 90 days in incarceration. However, Kejriwal remains in judicial custody following his arrest by the CBI on June 26 in the same matter.
Last week, the apex court granted bail to AAP leader Manish Sisodia in the cases registered by the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate in the Delhi excise policy case. Sisodia was released after suffering from 17-month long incarceration.
The top court, which granted bail to Sisodia last Friday, said there is no utility in keeping Sisodia in jail in a case where there is no hope of trial ending anytime, and, most importantly, continued incarceration impinges on his fundamental right to liberty and speedy trial under Article 21 of the Constitution.
