Advice to CBI, 60 page decision... SC's important points on Kejriwal's bail

Arvind Kejriwal News / Advice to CBI, 60 page decision... SC's important points on Kejriwal's bail

Arvind Kejriwal News - Advice to CBI, 60 page decision... SC's important points on Kejriwal's bail

Arvind Kejriwal News: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has finally been released from Tihar Jail after a long period of 156 days. The Supreme Court on Friday granted him bail in the corruption case related to the excise policy. The court made it clear in its decision that keeping him in jail for a long time would be like depriving him of freedom. However, the Supreme Court has rejected Kejriwal's petition challenging the arrest by the CBI. The 60-page decision of the Supreme Court has two pages on bail and 58 pages on the challenge to the arrest.

Different opinions of judges on bail and arrest

The bench of Justice Suryakant and Justice Ujjal Bhuiyan gave different opinions on the petitions seeking bail and challenging the arrest. Both the judges gave a single opinion on the issue of bail, but presented different views on the issue of arrest. Justice Suryakant justified the arrest of Kejriwal by the CBI, while Justice Bhuiyan questioned the timing of the arrest and advised the CBI to get out of the notions of a parrot in a cage.

Conditions and other directions on bail

The Supreme Court, while releasing Kejriwal on bail, imposed a condition of depositing a bond of Rs 10 lakh and two sureties of the same amount. The court also directed Kejriwal to refrain from making any public comment on the facts of the case. Along with this, the Supreme Court said that Kejriwal will not be allowed to go to the Delhi Secretariat and sign any official file, unless the approval of the Lieutenant Governor is obtained.

Questions on the functioning of the CBI

The Supreme Court raised serious questions on the functioning of the CBI. Justice Bhuiyan termed the arrest by the CBI as unfair and looked at it like a parrot locked in a cage. He said that the CBI should make it clear that its action is fair and should try to avoid any bias. Justice Bhuiyan also said that it is beyond comprehension why the CBI did not arrest Kejriwal for 22 months and why it was suddenly in such a hurry to arrest him.

Right to bail and liberty

Justice Suryakant said in the bail judgment that Kejriwal's arrest is correct, but keeping him in jail for a long time till the trial is pending would violate his right to liberty. He said that bail is an important aspect of jurisprudence and the accused is innocent until he is proven guilty.

Will not be able to go to the secretariat, will not sign files

The Supreme Court ordered the release of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal from jail on the condition of depositing a bond of Rs 10 lakh and two sureties of the same amount. The bench of Justice Suryakant and Ujjal Bhuiyan directed Kejriwal not to make any public comment on the facts of the case.
The bench has said that the conditions imposed by the Supreme Court while granting interim bail in the money laundering case related to the excise policy will remain applicable in this case as well. The Supreme Court had imposed the condition that Kejriwal cannot go to his office or Delhi Secretariat while granting interim bail on May 10 for election campaign and on July 12 in the money laundering case. Also, it was said that he cannot sign any official file unless it is absolutely necessary to obtain the approval of the Lieutenant Governor.
Apart from this, the Supreme Court has directed Kejriwal to be present in the special court for every hearing of the case, unless he is exempted from it. Also, he has been asked to cooperate fully for the speedy conclusion of the trial proceedings in the special court.

CBI should come out of the concept of a caged parrot

The Supreme Court called the arrest of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal by the CBI in the corruption case related to the excise policy inappropriate. It also raised serious questions on its timing. Justice Bhuiyan, in his separate decision agreeing to grant bail to Kejriwal, said that the CBI should definitely come out of the concept of a caged parrot.
Justice Bhuiyan, in his decision, has questioned the timing of the arrest and said that it is beyond comprehension that when the CBI did not feel the need to arrest Kejriwal for the last 22 months. Then why so much hurry to arrest him suddenly? Especially when he was on the verge of release in the money laundering case.
Justice Bhuiyan has said that the CBI cannot justify the arrest and continued detention of Kejriwal by citing his evasive answers during interrogation. Not cooperating cannot mean self-incrimination. He has said that the facts show that the purpose of the CBI was to obstruct the bail granted to Kejriwal in the money laundering case registered by the Enforcement Directorate.
Describing the CBI as a premier investigating agency of the country, Justice Ujjal Bhuiyan said that it is very important in the public interest that the CBI must not only be impartial, but it must also demonstrate this. The CBI should make every effort to dispel the notion that the investigation was not conducted impartially and the arrest was made in a repressive and biased manner.
He said that in a functioning democracy governed by the rule of law, perception is very important. Therefore, CBI will have to try to get out of the perception of a caged parrot. Justice Bhuiyan said that an investigating agency should be honest as well as appear honest.
He said that some time ago, this court had criticized the CBI and compared it to a caged parrot. In such a situation, it is necessary that CBI should get rid of the perception of a caged parrot. The perception should be that CBI is not a caged parrot but is free. In 2013, the Supreme Court had questioned the functioning of CBI in a coal scam case and compared this premier investigating agency of the country to a caged parrot.

CBI became active after getting bail from special court

Justice Ujjal Bhuiyan has said that CBI activated its machinery and arrested AAP leader Kejriwal only after the special judge granted him bail in the money laundering case. This kind of action not only puts a serious question mark on the timing of the arrest but also on the arrest itself.
Also said that for 22 months CBI does not arrest the appellant but after the special judge granted regular bail in the money laundering case, CBI demands his custody. In such a situation, it can be assumed that such arrest made by CBI was probably only to thwart the bail granted to Kejriwal in the money laundering case.
Reiterating the principle that keeping the accused in jail for a long time before the hearing should not become a punishment, Justice Bhuiyan said that bail jurisprudence is an aspect of civilized criminal justice system. An accused is innocent until he is proven guilty by a competent court following due procedure. Therefore, there is a presumption of innocence. He said that this court has been reiterating that bail is the rule and jail is the exception.

Kejriwal's arrest in corruption case is right: Justice Suryakant

Granting bail to Chief Minister Kejriwal in the money laundering case related to the excise policy, Justice Suryakant held his arrest by CBI valid. In his separate judgment, he said that there is no obstacle in arresting a person already in custody in any other case.
He said that we have noted that the CBI has recorded proper reasons for this. He has said that the facts show that there is no violation of Section 41A (iii) of the Code of Criminal Procedure in the arrest of the petitioner by the CBI. Making this remark, he dismissed Kejriwal's petition challenging the arrest in the corruption case.
The Supreme Court rejected the arguments of the CBI, which demanded a direction to Kejriwal to go to the special court for bail. Justice Suryakant has said in his decision that the petitioner cannot be sent to the special court for bail because the High Court did not send Kejriwal back to the trial court in the initial stage and heard the case on the basis of merits of facts.
Justice Suryakant said, if an accused goes directly to the High Court without seeking relief from the trial court, then it is generally appropriate for the High Court to send him to the trial court in the beginning itself. However, if there is a lot of delay after issuing the notice, then it would not be wise to send the case to the trial court later. He said that bail is an issue very closely related to personal freedom. Therefore, bail pleas should be decided promptly on their merits and not run from one court to another on the basis of procedural technicalities.

Keeping him in jail for a long time will violate Kejriwal's right to freedom

Justice Suryakant has said in his judgment that in our view Kejriwal's arrest is valid. But, keeping him in jail for a long period till the trial is pending will violate the established legal principles and the right to freedom of the appellant. Which is enshrined in Article 21 of our Constitution.
He said that as far as the appellant's apprehension of influencing the outcome of the trial is concerned, it seems that all the evidence of the case is already in the possession of the CBI. In such a situation, there is no possibility of tampering by the petitioner. He also said that Kejriwal is the Chief Minister of the state and has deep roots in the society. In such a situation, there seems to be no valid reason to believe that he may flee from the country. To allay the apprehensions of the CBI in the case, we can impose strict bail conditions.
Justice Suryakant said that the CBI raised the issue of concurrent jurisdiction and argued that all the other co-accused who were granted bail by the apex court had approached the trial court. But, Kejriwal had not done so. He said the facts clearly show that the High Court, instead of passing judgement in the case at the initial stage, gave the verdict after a detailed hearing on merits.
He said it is true that normally the trial court should consider the petition seeking bail after the chargesheet is filed. But, there cannot be a strict formula which states that the consideration of bail should depend on the filing of chargesheet in every case. Justice Bhuyan also agreed with the views of Justice Suryakant on the issue of bail.

Conclusion

The decision to grant bail to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal reflects the important role of the judicial system. The Supreme Court ordered bail after considering various aspects, while also raising questions on the functioning of the CBI. This decision has taken an important step towards maintaining judicial independence and rule of law.