INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
New Delhi: In this May 22, 2024 file photo, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal during a meeting with lawyers, in New Delhi (Photo: PTI)4
min read Last Updated : Sep 13 2024 | 8:02 PM IST
Ahead of the Haryana elections, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was granted bail
Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
A division bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan had reserved its verdict on September 5 and gave
separate judgments.
Both the judges were unanimous in the decision to grant bail to Kejriwal, saying that the chargesheet has been filed
in the case and that the trial is unlikely to be completed in the near future
view, although the procedure for the Appellant's arrest meets the requisite criteria for legality and compliance, continued incarceration
for an extended period pending trial would infringe upon established legal principles and the Appellant's right to liberty, traceable to
Article 21 of our Constitution
The Appellant has been granted interim bail by this Court in the ED matter on May 10, 2024, and July 12, 2024, arising from the same set of
Additionally, several co-accused in both the CBI and ED matters have also been granted bail by the trial court, the high court, and this
Court in separate proceedings," the order said.
The judgment was on petitions filed by Kejriwal seeking bail and the quashing of his
arrest by the CBI on June 26.
The bail conditions on Kejriwal are the same as those imposed by the coordinate bench while granting interim
bail in the ED case, which means that the Delhi CM cannot visit the office of the Chief Minister and Delhi Secretariat and he cannot sign
official files unless it is required and necessary for obtaining clearance/approval of the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi.
In his judgment,
Consequently, the plea regarding non-compliance of these provisions merits rejection
He said the CBI's arrest raises more questions than it seeks to answer.
Justice Bhuyan noted that the CBI did not arrest Kejriwal for 22
Every effort must be made to remove any perception that the investigation was not carried out fairly and that the arrest was made in a
Not so long ago, this Court had castigated the CBI, comparing it to a caged parrot
It is imperative that CBI dispel the notion of it being a caged parrot
bail conditions that stop Kejriwal from entering the office of the Chief Minister and the Delhi Secretariat as well as from signing files,
he would refrain from further expressing his views thereon at this stage since those conditions have been imposed in the separate ED case by
a two-judge bench of the Supreme Court.
Saying that the CBI is definitely wrong when it says that because the appellant (Kejriwal) was
evasive in his reply, and because he was not cooperating with the investigation, he was rightly arrested and now should be continued in
manner in which the investigating agency would like the accused to answer, would it mean that the accused is cooperating with the
