Supreme Court Denies Interim Bail to CM Kejriwal: Excise Policy Scam

The Supreme Court has denied interim bail to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in a corruption case related to the excise policy scam. The matter, concerning the Delhi High Court's order upholding his arrest, will be heard on August 23. The CBI alleges irregularities in the policy's formulation.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to grant interim bail to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in a corruption case filed by the CBI related to the alleged excise policy scam.

A bench of justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan issued notice to the CBI regarding Kejriwal's plea against the Delhi High Court's decision to uphold his arrest.

'We are not granting any interim bail. We will issue notice,' the bench informed senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, who represented Kejriwal.

The court has scheduled the matter for a hearing on August 23.

On August 5, the Delhi High Court ruled Kejriwal's arrest as legal, rejecting any claims of malice in the CBI's actions. The court mentioned that the arrest enabled witnesses to come forward, who might have otherwise been influenced by Kejriwal.

The excise policy in question was scrapped in 2022 following a directive from the Delhi lieutenant governor for a CBI investigation into alleged corruption in its formulation and execution.

The CBI and ED have suggested that the policy was manipulated, and undue favours were given to licence holders.

(With inputs from agencies.)