Both Supreme Court judges disagree on legality of Kejriwal’s arrest by CBI
Six months after his initial arrest in the suspected Delhi liquor policy scandal, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was given bail by the Supreme Court in the CBI case on Friday. Despite both Supreme Court judges agreeing to grant bail, they disagreed on the legality of Kejriwal’s arrest by the CBI.
The leader of AAP will be released from prison after being given temporary bail for the ED’s money laundering case. Kejriwal is now the fifth prominent leader to receive bail in the case, following AAP leaders Manish Sisodia, Sanjay Singh, Vijay Nair, and Bharat Rashtra Samithi’s K Kavitha.
Also read: Supreme Court reserves order on Kejriwal’s bail plea in Excise Policy Scam
Justice Kant says court will lean towards liberty when trial is derailed
Justice Surya Kant stated that lengthy incarceration constituted unfair restriction of freedom, but he determined that Kejriwal’s detention was lawful and in accordance with proper procedures. Nonetheless, Justice Ujjal Bhuyan had a contrary opinion, labeling the arrest by the CBI as “unjustified”.
Justice Kant emphasized that in cases where a trial is disrupted, the court will lean towards granting liberty and reiterated the principle that “bail should be the norm and imprisonment should be the exception”.
“The appellant’s arrest does not suffer from illegality. The issue is of liberty… integral to sensitised judicial process. Prolonged incarceration amounts to unjust deprivation of liberty,” Justice Kant said.
Also read: Tihar officials quash AAP’s claims regarding Arvind Kejriwal’s health
Justice Bhuyan strongly criticized CBI for arresting Kejriwal
Alternatively, Justice Bhuyan strongly criticized the CBI for arresting Kejriwal after he was granted bail in the ED case, suggesting that it was done to prevent the AAP chief from being released from prison.
He pointed out that Kejriwal was not arrested by the CBI for 22 months and was arrested by the Chief Minister just before being released in the ED case. He added that the CBI should not act like a controlled parrot and should be free from any doubts.
“CBI must be seen above board and every effort must be made so that the arrest is not in a high-handed manner. Perception matters and the CBI must dispel the notion of being a caged parrot and must show it is an uncaged parrot. CBI should be like Caesar’s wife, above suspicion,” Justice Bhuyan said.
