‘CBI Did Not Arrest Me for 2 Years in Excise Policy Scam’, Says Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal to Supreme Court

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal informed the Supreme Court on Thursday that the CBI did not arrest him for nearly two years in connection with the alleged excise policy scam. He claimed that the arrest made on June 26 was essentially an 'insurance arrest' that followed his bail in a more severe money laundering case brought by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

Senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, representing Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, informed a bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan that the CBI did not issue any notice to Kejriwal prior to his arrest. He also noted that the trial court had issued an ex-parte arrest order. In his plea for bail for the incarcerated Delhi Chief Minister, Singhvi argued that Kejriwal, being a constitutional functionary, posed no flight risk.

The senior lawyer said the top court, while granting interim bail in the money laundering case, had said the chief minister was not a threat to society. “What started in August, 2023 has led to arrest in March this year in the money laundering case,” he said, adding the top court and a trial court have already granted him bail.

Kejriwal has filed two separate petitions contesting both the denial of bail and his arrest by the CBI. He is challenging the August 5 order from the Delhi High Court, which upheld his arrest.