Excise policy case: Delhi High Court to hear Arvind Kejriwal's bail plea today

The Delhi CM was arrested from Tihar Jail on June 26, where he was already detained in a money laundering case.

The Delhi High Court is scheduled to hear Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's bail plea related to the Excise policy case. The previous hearing occurred on July 2, during which Justice Neena Bansal Krishna directed the Cental Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to respond within seven days.

Kejriwal had lodged his plea in the Delhi High Court on July 1, challenging the Delhi Rouse Avenue Court's June 26 decision that sent him to CBI custody for three days. He remains in judicial custody until July 25.

The CBI is investigating allegations of corruption against the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convenor linked to the liquor policy. He was arrested from Tihar Jail on June 26, where he was already detained in a money laundering case related to the same case. Prior to this, he was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on March 21 and remanded to custody by the Rouse Avenue Court.

The Supreme Court, on July 12, granted interim bail to Kejriwal in the ED case concerning the excise policy. Acknowledging that Kejriwal had been in custody for 90 days, the top Court highlighted his status as an elected leader.

The apex court, however, referred his petition challenging the ED's arrest to a larger bench and specified that the interim bail hinges on the plea's outcome. The court also clarified that it cannot compel Kejriwal to resign as the Chief Minister of Delhi, leaving that decision to him.