Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal walked out of Tihar jail hours after SC granted him bail in the excise policy case. Kejriwal was granted bail by the Supreme Court in the corruption case by Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) pertaining to the alleged excise policy scam. “Every drop of my blood dedicated to nation; faced difficulties but God has always been with me,” CM Arvind Kejriwal said as he stepped out of jail.

“I was put behind bars not because I was corrupt but because I fought anti-national forces,” Arvind Kejriwal at roadshow. He added that country is going through critical phase, anti-national forces trying to weaken institutions.

Even though Kejriwal’s bail was unanimously granted by both judges, Justice Ujjal Bhuyan disagreed with Justice Kant on the CBI arrest, stating that it was solely done to frustrate bail that had been given in the Enforcement Directorate (ED) case. In his judgement, Judge Surya Kant stated that Kejriwal will be released on furnishing a bail bond of Rs 10 lakh and two sureties of the same amount. In addition, he mandated the CM should refrain from publicly discussing the merits of the CBI case.

Kejriwal had filed two petitions in the case, the CBI’s decision to uphold his arrest and the other challenging the denial of bail.

What had happened?

The Enforcement Directorate arrested Kejriwal on March 21 in connection with a money laundering case linked to the now-scrapped excise scheme. In connection with the alleged scam, he was formally arrested by the CBI on June 26. 

On July 12, the Supreme Court granted him interim bail in the money laundering case. He is presently being held in judicial custody in connection with the CBI’s corruption case. 

Just two of the 40 accused in the related cases, businessman Amandeep Singh Dhall and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, remain in jail.

How Opposition reacted?

The Congress said despite the misuse of the probe agencies, people have given BJP a befitting reply by bringing it down to 240 seats in the Lok Sabha. The opposition party’s remarks came after the Supreme Court granted bail to Kejriwal in the corruption case lodged by the CBI in connection with the excise policy ‘scam’, saying prolonged incarceration amounts to unjust deprivation of liberty.

Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said, “I don’t want to comment on this per se but I would only say that in the last 10 years, agencies have been misused against political opponents. So what is the doubt that you misuse ED, CBI and IT department and have been doing so for the last 10 years. There are so many people languishing in jails without a trial because Narendra Modi and Amit Shah do not like their faces.” 

Meanwhile, BJP national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia said, “The Supreme Court has shown a mirror to ‘kattar beimaan’ (outright dishonest) Arvind Kejriwal while granting bail to him. He should immediately resign after this.” Kejriwal continues to be an accused in the case as the court has granted him conditional bail, he said, adding that neither have the charges against him been quashed nor has he been acquitted. “West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has bowed down and offered to resign. This corrupt Arvind Kejriwal will also have to bow down,” Bhatia stated.

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Friday hailed as ‘victory of Constitution’ the bail granted to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal by the Supreme Court. “The bail of Delhi’s popular and public welfare Chief Minister Shri Arvind Kejriwal is a ‘victory of the Constitution’. Only those who are against the Constitution misuse the Constitution. The knock on the door of justice is always heard. The world has moved forward on this tradition till now and will continue to do so,” Yadav posted in Hindi on X, formerly Twitter.

(With agency inputs)