Arvind Kejriwal, the Delhi Chief Minister and AAP leader, was released from Tihar Jail on Friday after being granted bail by the Supreme Court in the Delhi excise policy case. He had spent over six months in jail. Despite the rain, senior AAP leaders and supporters, including his wife Sunita Kejriwal, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, and former deputy CM Manish Sisodia, gathered to welcome him.
Addressing the crowd, Kejriwal expressed gratitude and emphasized that his resolve to serve the nation had grown stronger despite his incarceration. He stated that the BJP’s efforts to break his morale had failed, and he vowed to continue fighting against divisive forces in the country.
Kejriwal had been arrested in March by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and later by the CBI in connection with the Delhi liquor policy case. The Supreme Court granted him bail, stating that his prolonged detention amounted to an “unjust deprivation of liberty.” However, his bail conditions restrict him from visiting his office or signing files without the approval of Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena.
In a split opinion regarding his arrest, Justice Surya Kant found no illegality, while Justice Ujjal Bhuyan questioned the timing of the CBI’s actions, suggesting they were meant to thwart the bail granted in the ED case. Justice Bhuyan emphasized the need for the CBI to maintain an impartial image and avoid the perception of being a “caged parrot.”
The excise policy at the center of the case was introduced in November 2021 and later scrapped in 2022 after allegations of undue benefits to liquor companies, which allegedly paid kickbacks to AAP through a “South Group” liquor lobby. The Enforcement Directorate has accused Kejriwal of laundering these kickbacks.