Arvind Kejriwal Vs Directorate of Enforcement (Supreme Court of India)
The Supreme Court considered an appeal challenging the orders of the trial court and the Delhi High Court that had upheld the arrest of Arvind Kejriwal by the Directorate of Enforcement (DoE) on 21 March 2024. The appeal raised several legal issues, including the scope and alleged violation of Section 19 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002. As the hearing on these issues was still ongoing and a final decision would take time, the Court confined itself to examining the question of interim bail.
The DoE had registered an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) on 22 August 2022 pursuant to a CBI case registered on 17 August 2022. Following investigation, the DoE filed its first prosecution complaint on 26 November 2022, and the Special Court took cognisance on 20 December 2022. Thereafter, four supplementary prosecution complaints were filed by the DoE, while the CBI filed a chargesheet and two supplementary chargesheets. However, charges had not yet been framed.
The Court noted that the 18th Lok Sabha General Elections were underway and described them as a significant national democratic exercise involving hundreds of millions of voters. Since the appeal challenging the legality of the arrest was pending before the Supreme Court, it considered it inappropriate to direct the appellant to seek interim bail from the trial court. The Court also rejected the prosecution’s argument that granting interim bail on account of the elections would place politicians in a privileged position compared to ordinary citizens. It observed that courts routinely consider the peculiar facts and circumstances of each case while deciding bail matters.
