All Persons Arrested In The Delhi Liquor Policy Case Get Bail, Except One

The Supreme Court yesterday granted bail to Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal in the CBI case registered in connection with the alleged liquor policy scam, paving the way for the release of another politician arrested in the case.Notably, the decision was preceded by other persons accused in the liquor policy case getting bail over the past few months. These include Abhishek Boinpally (Hyderabad businessman), Sanjay Singh (Aam Aadmi Party MP), Manish Sisodia (former Delhi Deputy CM), K Kavitha (BRS Leader), Vijay Nair (AAP's former communications-in-charge), Raghav Magunta (son of MP Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy) and Sarath Chandra Reddy (Director, Aurobindo Pharma).A perusal of the decisions in some of these cases would show that the Courts were persuaded to grant bail, taking into consideration the period of the accused's pre-trial incarceration and the likelihood of trial in the liquor policy case not being completed anytime soon. Insofar as the arrest and detention of certain political leaders, the Supreme Court further rendered suspect the motives of CBI/ED and called into question the fairness of their investigation.Following Kejriwal's bail order, it is reported that only one accused viz. Amandeep Dhall remains in custody.Let's have a look at what the Courts said in the above cases.♦ Benoy Babu (Granted bail by SC in the money laundering case)On December 8, 2023, a bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and SVN Bhatti granted bail to Benoy Babu, the regional Manager of Pernod Ricard India, in the money laundering case. The court considered the fact that he had undergone 13 months of incarceration and that the trial in the case had not even commenced.During the hearing, Justice Khanna orally remarked that there appeared to be contradictions between the allegations of CBI and ED as regards Babu. The judge further said that a person could not be indefinitely kept behind bars as an undertrial.The bench also observed that Babu was not an accused in the CBI case, and rather, was a prosecution witness.♦ Abhishek Boinpally (Granted interim bail by SC in the money laundering case)On March 20, 2024, a bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta granted interim bail to Abhishek Boinpally, a Hyderabad business, in the money laundering case.He was first arrested by the CBI in October, 2022. However, one month later, he got bail in the CBI case from a Delhi Court. This relief was short-lived as at the same time, ED's plea to take him into custody for five days was allowed by the Special Court. Thereafter, he remained incarcerated.Although Boinpally was granted interim bail by the Supreme Court for a period of 4 weeks, the order has been extended from time to time. As such, he continues to remain free from pre-trial detention.♦ Sanjay Singh (Granted bail by SC in the money laundering case)On April 2, a bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna, Dipankar Datta and PB Varale granted bail to AAP MP Sanjay Singh in the money laundering case, following a concession by the ED.When ED said it had no objection to grant of bail to Singh in "peculiar facts of the case", the Court ordered his release, clarifying that nothing was being expressed on merits. During the hearing, after observing that there were 9 exculpatory statements made by approver-Dinesh Arora and no money had been recovered from Singh, the Bench had asked ED whether further custody of Singh was required. Further, ASG SV Raju (appearing for ED) was asked to consider the implications of an order being passed in favor of Singh on merits, which would have attracted findings from the Court insofar as Section 45 PMLA was concerned."You have kept him in custody for 6 months. Dinesh Arora has not initially implicated him. Later on, in a statement, he does. No money has been recovered, the trace of money is not there because it was long back. Fact of the matter is money has not been recovered. Please keep in mind that if we are [...] with him, we are required to record in terms of section 45 that he has prima facie not committed an offense. That could have its own ramifications in trial", observed Justice Khanna.In this backdrop, ED gave a concession and Singh obtained bail.Singh was arrested by ED on October 4, 2023, following searches at his residence in Delhi. The agency alleged that an employee of businessman Dinesh Arora delivered Rs. 2 crores to Singh's house on two occasions.His arrest followed accusations made by Arora, who later turned approver in both the ED and CBI cases.♦ Manish Sisodia (Granted bail by SC in both corruption and money laundering cases)On August 9, a bench of Justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan granted bail to former Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia in the corruption and money laundering cases. Taking note of Sisodia's long pre-trial incarceration and the fact that the trial in the cases had not even commenced, the bench opined that he had been deprived of his right to speedy trial."We find that on account of long incarceration running around 17 months and...

All Persons Arrested In The Delhi Liquor Policy Case Get Bail, Except One

Debby Jain

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