Today, the Supreme Court adjourned the hearing of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's pleas, which challenge his arrest and request bail in the case brought by the CBI regarding the alleged Delhi Liquor Policy scam. This adjournment followed the CBI's request for additional time to file a counter affidavit.

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan has scheduled the matter for a hearing on September 5.

At the start of today's proceedings, Additional Solicitor General SV Raju requested additional time to file a counter-affidavit for one of the petitions, noting that the CBI's counter-affidavit had already been submitted for the other petition.

Senior Advocate Dr. Abhishek Manu Singhvi argued that the counter-affidavit was filed late last night at 8 PM with the intention of ensuring it did not reach the bench in time.

The bench granted the CBI additional time to file a counter-affidavit and allowed the petitioner to submit a rejoinder if necessary. Consequently, the matter was scheduled for September 5.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's latest petition, filed through Advocate-on-Record Vivek Jain, challenges the Delhi High Court's August 5 order. This order had dismissed his plea against the CBI arrest, granting him the option to seek bail from the trial court.

Arvind Kejriwal, the AAP chief, was formally arrested by the CBI on June 26, 2024, while he was in the Enforcement Directorate's custody in connection with a money laundering case linked to the alleged liquor policy scam.

Subsequently, on July 12, the Supreme Court granted Kejriwal interim bail in the money laundering case and referred his petition challenging the ED arrest to a larger bench. Despite this, Kejriwal remained in judicial custody due to his ongoing CBI arrest.

To challenge his CBI arrest and seek bail, Kejriwal filed a petition with the Delhi High Court. On August 5, Justice Neena Bansal Krishna dismissed his plea regarding the CBI arrest but permitted him to seek bail from the trial court. Dissatisfied with the High Court's decision, Kejriwal then approached the Supreme Court.

On August 14, the Supreme Court issued a notice on Kejriwal's plea but made it clear that it was not granting interim bail at that time. During the hearing, Senior Advocate Dr. AM Singhvi argued that Kejriwal had been granted interim bail on three occasions in the money laundering case, despite the stringent conditions imposed by Section 45 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

Senior Advocate Dr. AM Singhvi further questioned why Kejriwal was being denied regular bail in the CBI case when he had been granted bail under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), which has stricter conditions than those in the Prevention of Corruption Act. He characterized the CBI's arrest as an "insurance arrest," noting that it occurred on June 26, just as Kejriwal was about to be released in the ED case.

In related news, former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, who is also a co-accused in the liquor policy case, was recently granted bail by the Supreme Court. The Court considered Sisodia's prolonged pre-trial detention of approximately 18 months and the delays in the trial. The Court allowed his bail applications in both the CBI and ED cases, noting that he had been deprived of his right to a speedy trial.