Kejriwal gets bail in Delhi liquor policy case:
Will be released from jail after 177 days; Supreme Court said- CBI should come out of the caged parrot image
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal got bail on Friday, September 13 in the CBI case related to Delhi liquor policy. Kejriwal will come out of jail after 177 days. The court has imposed the same conditions for bail as were imposed while granting bail in the ED case.
Two investigation agencies (ED and CBI) have registered cases against Kejriwal. He got bail from the Supreme Court in the ED case on July 12. AAP has called this decision a victory of truth.
He was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on March 21 in the liquor policy case. Later on June 26, the CBI took him into custody from jail.
The bench of two judges was unanimous on bail, but had different opinion on arrest. The bench of Justice Suryakant and Justice Ujjwal Bhuiyan said that the arrest made by CBI was as per the rules. The court said
‘Keeping Kejriwal in jail despite getting bail in the ED case would be a mockery of justice. The power of arrest should be used very thoughtfully.
Justice Surya Kant said:
1. If a person is already in custody, it is not wrong to arrest him again in connection with the investigation. CBI has explained why his investigation was necessary.
2. The arrest of the petitioner is not illegal. CBI has not violated any rules. They needed to investigate. That is why arrests were made in this case.
Justice Ujjwal Bhuiyan said:
1. CBI’s arrest raises more questions than answers. As soon as they get bail in ED case, CBI becomes active. In such a situation, questions arise about the time of arrest.
2. The CBI must appear impartial and every effort must be made to ensure that arrests are not arbitrary. The perception of the investigating agency as a caged parrot must be dispelled.
Liquor policy case- Kejriwal Kejriwal, who spent 156 days in jail, was arrested by ED on 21 March. After 10 days of interrogation, he was sent to Tihar Jail on 1 April. On 10 May, he was released for 21 days to campaign in the Lok Sabha elections. This release was granted after spending 51 days in jail. On 2 June, Kejriwal surrendered in Tihar Jail.
If Kejriwal is released today, i.e. on 13th September, then it will be 177 days since he was in jail. Out of these, he was on interim bail for 21 days. That means Kejriwal has spent a total of 156 days in jail so far.
