NEW DELHI (TIP): In a significant development, the Supreme Court on Friday, July 12 granted interim bail to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the case registered under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) over the liquor policy case, while referring his petition challenging the arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to a larger bench.

A bench comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta referred Kejriwal’s petition to a larger bench to examine the question whether the need or necessity of arrest must be read as a condition into Section 19 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

Kejriwal will however remain in custody since he was arrested by the CBI under the Prevention of Corruption Act in relation to the same liquor policy case on June 25.

Reading the excerpts from the judgment in open court, Justice Khanna held that the “reasons to believe” for arrest meet with the parameters of S.19 of the PMLA, which gives the power of arrest to ED officers. “However, having said so, we have raised an additional ground which relates to the need and necessity of arrest…we felt that this issue whether the ground of need and necessity of arrest must be read into Section 19, especially in view of the doctrine of proportionality. We have referred those questions to the larger bench,” Justice Khanna said.

We have also held that mere interrogation does not allow you to arrest. That is not a ground under S.19,” Justice Khanna added.
While referring the matter to the larger bench, the present bench chose to grant him interim bail considering his incarceration so far. The bench clarified that the question of interim bail can be modified by the larger bench.

In another crucial development, Kejriwal has challenged before the Delhi High Court his arrest by CBI and 3 days of police remand. He has also filed a plea seeking bail in the CBI case. Both matters are fixed for hearing on July 17.