The Supreme Court has granted Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal bail in a money-laundering case linked to the Delhi liquor policy, filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). Despite the interim bail, Mr. Kejriwal will remain in jail as he is also being questioned by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in a separate case. The judgment was delivered by a bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta, noting Mr. Kejriwal's over 90-day incarceration.

Mr. Kejriwal, also the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief, was arrested on March 21 by the ED in connection with the alleged Delhi liquor policy scam. He challenged the April 9 Delhi High Court order that refused to grant him relief. The High Court had upheld his arrest, stating there was no illegality and that the central probe agency had "little option" after he skipped repeated summonses and refused to join the investigation.

Both the ED and CBI are investigating the money laundering angle in the now-scrapped Delhi liquor policy. Introduced in November 2021, the policy saw the Delhi government withdraw from the retail sale of liquor, allowing private licensees to run stores. However, in July 2022, Delhi Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar flagged gross violations and alleged "undue benefits" to liquor licensees, leading to the policy being scrapped in September that year.

The CBI alleges that liquor companies influenced the excise policy to secure a 12% profit margin. It claims a liquor lobby, dubbed the "South Group," paid kickbacks amounting to ?100 crore to the AAP, part of which was allegedly routed to public servants. The ED has accused Mr. Kejriwal of laundering these kickbacks.

The Supreme Court has granted Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal bail in a money-laundering case linked to the Delhi liquor policy, filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). Despite the interim bail, Mr. Kejriwal will remain in jail as he is also being questioned by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in a separate case. The judgment was delivered by a bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta, noting Mr. Kejriwal's over 90-day incarceration.

Mr. Kejriwal, also the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief, was arrested on March 21 by the ED in connection with the alleged Delhi liquor policy scam. He challenged the April 9 Delhi High Court order that refused to grant him relief. The High Court had upheld his arrest, stating there was no illegality and that the central probe agency had "little option" after he skipped repeated summonses and refused to join the investigation.

Both the ED and CBI are investigating the money laundering angle in the now-scrapped Delhi liquor policy. Introduced in November 2021, the policy saw the Delhi government withdraw from the retail sale of liquor, allowing private licensees to run stores. However, in July 2022, Delhi Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar flagged gross violations and alleged "undue benefits" to liquor licensees, leading to the policy being scrapped in September that year.

The CBI alleges that liquor companies influenced the excise policy to secure a 12% profit margin. It claims a liquor lobby, dubbed the "South Group," paid kickbacks amounting to ?100 crore to the AAP, part of which was allegedly routed to public servants. The ED has accused Mr. Kejriwal of laundering these kickbacks.