Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was granted bail by the Supreme Court in the Central Bureau of Investigation case related to the Delhi excise policy, now scrapped, on Friday.
It gives Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) a much-needed boost as it contesting all the 90 seats in the Haryana Assembly elections and the party chief's involvement will help its chances to do better.
The AAP leader will now walk out of prison as he was also previously granted interim bail in the money laundering case registered by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) after six months.
ED arrested Kejriwal on March 21 in a money laundering case linked to liquor policy fraud.
However, as the CBI also arrested him in a corruption case on June 26 while in ED custody Kejriwal was not released even as the Supreme Court granted him interim bail on July 12.
Friday's bail order was passed by a Bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan.
The court, however, said that CBI's arrest was valid and that procedural laws had been complied with.
As part of the bail conditions imposed by the court, Kejriwal was barred from visiting the Chief Minister’s office or the Delhi Secretariat.
He was also ordered not to make any public comment on the merits of the case.
Kejriwal's lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi had argued that Kejriwal as CM was a "Constitutional functionary and not a flight risk."
Singhvi alleged CBI's move was a planned one to make sure he remained behind bars for some time.
Two separate pleas were filed before SC by Kejriwal. He challenged the legality of his arrest by CBI on one and sought bail in the other.
The bail has been allowed, but the other plea questioning the legality of the case was rejected.
The court said "There is no impediment in arresting a person who is already in custody for another case for purposes of investigation. CBI in their application has noted why the arrest was necessary and since there was a judicial order. There was no violation of Section 41(A)(3) of Code of Criminal Procedure."
As a Magistrate has issued a warrant CBI was not bound to give any reason for the same, SC said.
The Apex court added that it had "held that appellant arrest does not suffer from any procedural flaw. Thus arrest is valid."
Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, representing CBI, said a part of kickbacks received from the excise policy was used by AAP in the Goa Assembly polls in 2022.
Raju objected to the bail petition, saying Kejriwal had not approached the trial court for bail as per the regular course of action.
SC in response referred to its judgment granting bail to former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia in the same liquor policy case.
It had said a litigant seeking bail must not be made to run from pillar to post for his personal liberty.
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