Kejriwal release will turn many witnesses 'hostile', CBI tells SC

New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday told the Supreme Court that the release of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will lead to many witnesses in the corruption case linked to the excise policy scam turning "hostile".

Urging the apex court to not release Kejriwal on bail, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) S.V. Raju, representing the CBI, said that many candidates of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the Goa Assembly election 2022 came forward to give their statements to the central agency only after the AAP supremo was arrested.

"They (witnesses) will turn hostile, if your lordships release Kejriwal on bail," the ASG argued.

He added that a total amount of Rs 44.54 crore was sent through hawala channels to Goa from Delhi, which was used for meeting various election-related expenses in Assembly elections.

Further, ASG Raju said that Kejriwal’s plea for bail should be remanded back to the trial court and he should have not petitioned the Delhi High Court for bail in the first instance. He urged the apex court to consider the contents of the charge sheet filed against Kejriwal, which the trial court has taken cognisance of and issued a production warrant for Kejriwal on September 11.

He submitted that arrest is a part of the investigation and ordinarily, an investigating officer will not require any permission from a court to make an arrest.

"But, in the present case, there was an order of the court granting the power (to arrest)," he said. He added that when an arrest is made pursuant to an order of the court, an accused cannot take a plea of violation of fundamental rights.

The government law officer also said that there exists no embargo to arrest an accused who has been given a notice under Section 41A CrPC and an investigating officer may arrest him for "reasons to be recorded in writing".

After the conclusion of the oral submissions of ASG Raju, a bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan is now dealing with the rejoinder arguments being advanced by senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing on Kejriwal's behalf.

Earlier in the day, Singhvi said that the CBI did not arrest Kejriwal for two years since August 2022 but made an “insurance arrest in hurry” in anticipation of his release on bail in the money laundering case. He said that Kejriwal, a constitutional functionary holding the position of Delhi Chief Minister, satisfied the triple test for grant of bail. "He is not a flight risk, he will turn up to answer the questions of the investigative agency and cannot tamper with documents, running into lakhs of pages, and digital evidence after two years," Singhvi submitted.