New Delhi: The Supreme Court is scheduled to announce its decision on Friday, September 13, regarding Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwals petitions seeking bail and challenging his arrest by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the ongoing excise policy case. The verdict is highly anticipated as it could significantly impact the political landscape.Rajya Sabha MP from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Raghav Chadha, expressed optimism about the outcome. We are hopeful, he stated, adding that the party is awaiting the Supreme Courts judgement on Kejriwals bail with cautious optimism. The case has drawn widespread public and media attention.Supreme Court to announce verdict at 10:30 AMAccording to the Supreme Courts cause list, a bench headed by Justice Surya Kant, with Justice Ujjal Bhuyan, is slated to deliver the ruling at 10:30 AM. The bench had reserved its verdict on September 5 after hearing the petitions challenging Kejriwals arrest. The Delhi Chief Minister had been arrested on June 26 by the CBI in connection with allegations of corruption related to the Delhi governments excise policy for 2021-2022, which has since been scrapped.Kejriwal challenges High Court decisionKejriwal has filed two petitions—one challenging the denial of bail and the other contesting the legality of his arrest. The petitions also challenge the Delhi High Courts August 5 decision, which upheld his arrest by the CBI, citing sufficient evidence collected during the investigation. The court argued that his arrest was based on legitimate grounds and that the CBI had followed legal procedures.The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has also lodged a separate case of money laundering linked to the alleged excise policy scam. On March 21, Kejriwal was arrested by the ED in connection with this case. Both the CBI and ED allege irregularities in modifying the excise policy and extending undue benefits to license holders.Supreme Court previously granted interim bailIn a previous Supreme Court ruling on July 12, Kejriwal was granted interim bail in the money laundering case, with the court referring key legal questions related to the necessity of arrest under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to a larger bench for further review.During a hearing on September 5, Kejriwals legal team strongly opposed the CBIs argument that he should have first approached the trial court for bail. However, the CBI, represented by Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, defended the validity of the arrest and argued that Kejriwal should have sought bail from the trial court, as previously directed in his money laundering case.
