Kejriwal walks out of jail after SC grants bail in excise policy case; "Thick walls of jail cannot break me"

NEW DELHI: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal walked out of Tihar Jail on Friday, hours after the Supreme Court granted him bail in the CBI case linked to the alleged excise policy scam holding that prolonged incarceration amounts to "unjust deprivation of liberty".

The court also held that the Central Bureau of Investigation(CBI) must dispel the notion of being a "caged parrot", as the bail came as a major relief to the 56-year-old Aam Aadmi Party chief just ahead of the Assembly elections in Haryana and months before in Delhi. It further observed that the arrest of Kejriwal by the CBI was unjustified.

Kejriwal, who was arrested on March 21 by the Enforcement Directorate(ED) in the same case and later by the CBI which was probing corruption charges, stepped out after spending 155 days in Tihar jail here. The AAP supremo, who was earlier granted three-week interim bail in the ED case, was given a resounding welcome by his party leaders and supporters who were drenched in heavy rain.

Addressing party workers from the sunroof of an SUV, Kejriwal, sporting a half-sleeve blue shirt, raised 'Inquilab Zindabad' and 'Vande Mataram' slogans.

"These anti-national forces that are trying to weaken the nation, divide the nation... I have always fought them and will continue fighting against them," he said, and raised the slogan of 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai'.

"I have struggled a lot in my life and have braved huge difficulties but God has supported me at every step. He has supported me because I was truthful. They put me in jail. They thought that by putting me in jail, they will break my morale. My resolve has grown 100 times stronger and my strength has grown by 100 times," he added.

"The thick walls of the jail and the bars cannot break me," said Kejriwal, who later held a roadshow. Kejriwal is the third top AAP leader to get bail in the Delhi Excise policy case after former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh.

The Delhi unit of BJP, however, called for Kejriwal's resignation, saying he cannot discharge the duties of the post as per the bail conditions for his release.

Notwithstanding the relaxation in bail conditions by a bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan which released Kejriwal in the CBI case, the chief minister still cannot visit his office at Delhi Secretariat and sign any official file.

The bench retained only two bail conditions that he shall remain present before the trial court on each and every date of hearing, unless exempted and fully cooperate in expeditious conclusion of the trial. It decided to do away with the conditions that the chief minister cannot go to Delhi Secretariat, or sign files.

However, the relief in the present case cannot be enforced as a bench headed by Justice Sanjiv Khanna, on May 10 and July 12 had imposed these conditions and made clear that they can only be recalled or modified by a larger constitution bench. Kejriwal will have to seek modification of these restrictions by approaching the CJI to set up a larger bench.

The AAP, however, asserted that Kejriwal was "fully empowered" to give directions to all his ministers so that work could be done in public interest.

Kejriwal heads the council of ministers and oversees all governance through the ministers of various departments, the party said in a statement.

The top court also imposed a slew of other conditions and directed that Kejriwal be released on bail upon furnishing bail bonds for a sum of Rs. 10 lakh with two sureties of such like amount, to the satisfaction of the trial court.

"The appellant shall not make any public comments on the merits of the CBI case, it being sub judice before the trial court. This condition is necessitated to dissuade a recent tendency of building a self-serving narrative on public platforms," it said.

On July 12, the apex court had granted interim bail to Kejriwal in ED's money laundering case linked to the now-scrapped Delhi liquor policy but could not come out of jail as he was arrested by the CBI on June 26. It had earlier released him on interim bail in the ED case in May for three weeks to enable him to campaign for the Lok Sabha elections.

The court said completion of trial was unlikely to occur in the immediate future and rejected the CBI's apprehension of tampering by Kejriwal.

While Justice Kant and Justice Bhuyan concurred on the issue of grant of bail, they, however, differed on the question of legality of arrest by the CBI.

Justice Bhuyan, who wrote a separate judgement, questioned the timing of Kejriwal's arrest by the CBI and said the agency's aim was to frustrate grant of bail to him in the ED case. Justice Kant on his part did not find any illegality in the CBI arrest.

"I fail to understand the CBI's urgency to arrest Kejriwal on cusp of release in the ED case when it did not do so for 22 months," Justice Bhuyan said.

He said the CBI can't justify arrest and continued detention citing evasive replies by Kejriwal, and added that non-cooperation cannot mean self-incrimination.

Justice Bhuyan wrote in his judgment that the CBI is a premier investigating agency and it must not only be above board, but also be seen to be so. "Every effort must be made to remove any perception that investigation was not carried out fairly and that the arrest was made in a high-handed and biased manner."

"In a functional democracy governed by the rule of law, perception matters. Like Caesar's wife, an investigating agency must be above board. Not long ago, this court has castigated the CBI comparing it to a caged parrot. It is imperative that CBI dispels the notion of it being a caged parrot. Rather, the perception should be that of an uncaged parrot." Justice Bhuyan said.

"The CBI must dispel notion of being a caged parrot, must show it is an uncaged parrot."

It would be travesty of justice to keep the chief minister in custody when he has got bail in the ED case on the same grounds, he added.

Justice Bhuyan said he has serious reservations on the bail conditions imposed in the ED case on Kejriwal which bar him from entering the CM's office and signing files.

"I am not commenting on conditions imposed on Kejriwal due to judicial discipline as it was in a separate ED case," he added.

Kejriwal had filed two separate petitions challenging the denial of bail and against his arrest by the CBI in the corruption case filed by the central agency.

Holding that Kejriwal's arrest does not suffer with any procedural infirmity, Justice Kant said the CBI complied with the procedure encompassed within the framework of Section 41A of the CrPC.

Justice Kant said although the procedure for Kejriwal's arrest meets the requisite criteria for legality and compliance, his continued incarceration would infringe upon established legal principles and his right to liberty.

The excise policy was scrapped in 2022 after the Delhi lieutenant governor ordered a CBI investigation into alleged irregularities and corruption involving its formulation and execution.