Interim bail granted to Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal till June 1 in excise policy case

Rejecting the prosecution’s argument that if politicians can be granted interim bail to campaign for elections, there is no reason why an agriculturalist or a businessman should be denied bail to attend to his work, the bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta laid down the conditions for interim bail to Kejriwal:

• he shall furnish bail bonds in the sum of Rs 50,000 with one surety of the like amount to the satisfaction of the Jail Superintendent;
• he shall not visit the Office of the Chief Minister and the Delhi Secretariat;
• he shall be bound by the statement made on his behalf that he shall not sign official files unless it is required and necessary for obtaining clearance/approval of the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi;
• he will not make any comment with regard to his role in the present case;
• he will not interact with any of the witnesses and/or have access to any official files connected with the case.

“The grant of interim bail will not be treated as an expression of opinion on the merits of the case or the criminal appeal which is pending consideration before us,” the bench said, referring to Kejriwal’s plea against his arrest by the ED.

“It is no gain saying that General Elections to Lok Sabha is the most significant and an important event this year, as it should be in a national election year. Between 650-700 million voters out of an electorate of about 970 million will cast their votes to elect the government of this country for the next five years. General Elections supply the vis viva to a democracy,” it said.

“Given the prodigious importance, we reject the argument raised on behalf of the prosecution that grant of interim bail/release on this account would be giving premium of placing the politicians in a benefic position compared to ordinary citizens of this country. While examining the question of grant of interim bail/release, the courts always take into consideration the peculiarities associated with the person in question and the surrounding circumstances. In fact, to ignore the same would be iniquitous and wrong,” it said.

“The prosecution has rightly pointed out that the appellant, Arvind Kejriwal, had failed to appear in spite of nine notices/summons, first of which was issued in October 2023. This is a negative factor, but there are several other facets which we are required to take into consideration. The appellant… is the Chief Minister of Delhi and a leader of one of the national parties. No doubt, serious accusations have been made, but he has not been convicted. He does not have any criminal antecedents. He is not a threat to society,” the bench said.

“The investigation in the present case has remained pending since August 2022. Arvind Kejriwal was arrested… on 21.03.2024. More importantly, legality and validity of the arrest itself is under challenge before this Court and we are yet to finally pronounce on the same. The… situation cannot be compared with harvesting of crops or plea to look after business affairs. In this background, once the matter is subjudice and the questions relating to legality of arrest are under consideration, a more holistic and libertarian view is justified, in the background that the 18th Lok Sabha General Elections are being held,” it said.

“At this stage, it is not possible for us to either conclude the arguments or finally pronounce the judgement. However, there is an intervening factor which has prompted us to consider and pass the present order, namely, 18th Lok Sabha General Elections, which are in progress. As the appeal is pending before us, we do not think it would be proper for us to direct the appellant – Arvind Kejriwal to approach the trial court for interim bail/release. This may not be apt in view of the legal issues and contentions that are under examination and consideration before us,” it said.

Earlier, as soon as the bench took up the matter to pronounce its order, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who appeared for the ED and had opposed any interim relief, said, “Now we have been approached by Amritpal Singh. That’s a concern.”

Amritpal Singh, leader of ‘Waris Punjab De’ who was held under the National Security Act, is in a jail in Dibrugarh, Assam, and wants to contest in the Lok Sabha elections.

Justice Khanna, however, said, “That’s something entirely different. You can’t compare.”

Mehta said he “could not find any precedent to assist Your Lordships either way, that a person is released for campaigning”.

Justice Khanna said, “Let’s not put into a simple straightjacket like that.”. He said the case was registered in August 2022 and Kejriwal was arrested in March 2024 after about one-and-half years. “21 days… should not make any difference,” he said, referring to the interim bail period.

Mehta said he should not speak about the case but the bench told him “you are entitled to counter him with equally strong statements”.

Senior Advocate A M Singhvi, appearing for Kejriwal, wondered if he could get more time and pointed out that the election results are on June 4.

But the bench declined any further extension. “No, no. We will try and conclude the arguments next week and try to pronounce the judgement, if possible,” it said.

Mehta said Kejriwal should surrender at the expiry of interim bail.

“He will surrender,” Justice Khanna said.