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HC upholds Delhi CM’s arrest in excise case; says CBI has no malice
It is ‘rarest of rare’ case, argues Kejriwal’s counsel; judge refuses to budge, says there were links of this crime even in Punjab but the material witnesses were not forthcoming due to the influence exercised by the petitioner; AAP to approach SC
The Delhi High Court on Monday ruled that there was no malice on the part of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in arresting Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in a corruption case connected with the erstwhile excise policy case.
Justice Neena Bansal Krishna rejected Mr. Kejriwal’s plea seeking declaration of his arrest by the CBI and all subsequent remands and his incarceration in jail as illegal, and said, “It cannot be said that the arrest was without any justiciable reasons or was illegal.”
The judge also rejected a separate plea by the Chief Minister seeking bail in the CBI corruption case saying that when he filed the bail plea, the chargesheet was not filed. However, with the chargesheet now filed before the trial court, the High Court said, “It would be in the benefit of the petitioner to first approach the Court of sessions judge.”
However, AAP said they will approach the Supreme Court as the top court had given interim bail to Mr. Kejriwal in an Enforcement Directorate (ED) case on the excise policy ‘scam’.
Mr. Kejriwal had argued that his CBI arrest was an “insurance arrest” to ensure he stays in prison. His counsel had argued, “It is a rarest of rare case. He [Mr. Kejriwal] is already in custody in the ED case and the CBI did nothing for the last one year and then suddenly arrests him.”
The CBI arrested Mr. Kejriwal on June 26 from Tihar Jail, where he was lodged in judicial custody in a connected money laundering case filed by the ED.
However, the High Court, in its 48-page judgment said: “It is only after sufficient evidence was collected and the sanction obtained in April 2024 that the CBI proceeded with further investigations in this matter against the petitioner and his eventual arrest”.
‘Influential figure’
The judge additionally highlighted that, “The petitioner is not an ordinary person but is the Chief Minister of NCT of Delhi and the convener of Aam Aadmi Party, which has its government in Punjab.”
“There were links of this crime even in Punjab but the material witnesses were not forthcoming for the simple reason of the influence exercised by the petitioner by virtue of his position. It is only when he was arrested that the witnesses from Punjab came forth to get their statements recorded and in fact two of those witnesses, turned approver against the petitioner,” the judge said.
The court went on to say: “The control and the influence which he has on the witnesses is prima facie borne out from the fact that these witnesses could muster courage to be a witness only after the arrest of the petitioner, as highlighted by the learned Special Prosecutor.”
“Also, it establishes that the loop of evidence against the petitioner got closed after collection of relevant evidence after his arrest. No malice whatsoever, can be gathered from the acts of the respondent [CBI],” the judge said in her ruling.
The Chief Minister, who was arrested by the ED on March 21, was granted bail by the trial court in the money laundering case on June 20. However, the trial court’s order was stayed by the High Court. On July 12, the Supreme Court granted interim bail to Mr. Kejriwal in the money laundering case.
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