New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday said Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has suffered incarceration for over 90 days' and the issue involves right to life and liberty of an individual while granting him interim bail.
The apex court’s decision is likely to give a huge boost to the Aam Aadmi Party’s political narrative. Kejriwal had termed his arrest a politically motivated witch-hunt orchestrated by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Kejriwal had moved the apex court challenging his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case linked to the liquor policy case. Kejriwal had cited the wider implications of his arrest for democratic governance and the rule of law.
A bench of justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta observed that the legal scope regarding the necessity to arrest and the doctrine of proportionality in Enforcement Directorate cases, where investigating officers have been given much discretion to make arrests, should be determined by a larger bench. The apex court stressed that these questions require in-depth consideration by a larger bench.
The SC verdict is a crucial legal victory for the Delhi Chief Minister and his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). Kejriwal had maintained that he was falsely implicated by the ED in the case.
However, the Delhi Chief Minister will continue to remain in custody due to a separate case being investigated by the CBI in the Delhi liquor policy matter. The AAP chief was arrested by CBI on June 26 on charges of corruption and criminal conspiracy in the excise policy case.
Justice Sanjiv Khanna, pronouncing the order on behalf of the bench, said the court cannot direct Kejriwal to step down as the chief minister, because he has been implicated in the ED case, and that it is for him to take a call. “We are conscious that Arvind Kejriwal is an elected leader and Chief Minister of Delhi, a post holding importance…..We are doubtful whether a court can direct an elected leader to step down and not function as a CM. We leave it on Arvind Kejriwal to take a call”, said Justice Khanna.
After his challenge to the ED arrest was nixed by the Delhi High Court on April 9, Kejriwal moved the apex court. Kejriwal was the third Aam Aadmi Party leader, who was arrested in the Delhi liquor policy case. His former deputy Manish Sisodia was arrested in this case on February 23, 2023, and remains incarcerated. AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh was released on bail on April 2.
