Connect with us
Wednesday,18-September-2024
Breaking News

National News

Supreme Court Grants Bail To Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal In Delhi Liquor Policy Case; To Walk Out Of Jail Today

Published

on

Supreme Court Grants Bail To Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal In Delhi Liquor Policy Case; To Walk Out Of Jail Today

In a major relief for Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, the Supreme Court on Friday granted him bail in a corruption case registered by CBI in the alleged excise policy scam. Supreme Court observed that prolonged incarceration amounts to unjust deprivation of liberty.

The bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan pronounced the order.

They stated that Kejriwal’s arrest by the CBI is legal. According to Bar and Bench, the AAP chief will be released subject to a bail bond of Rs. 10 lakh.

Placing conditions on Kejriwal’s release, the court said he cannot make public comments about the case. Kejriwal has been asked to appear for trial unless exempted.

In the last hearing, the CBI opposed Kejriwal’s bail plea, stating he directly approached the High Court without first going to the Sessions Court.

ASG SV Raju, counsel for the CBI, had argued before the court that Kejriwal used his influence to harass an excise license holder from Punjab through his party-led government.

The Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who is lodged in Tihar Jail, is expected to walk out of the jail this evening after nearly five months of incarceration.

Kejriwal was arrested by the CBI on June 26 while he was in judicial custody in connection with a money laundering case being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) related to the same scam.

Following this, the Delhi CM approached the High Court challenging his arrest. On August 5, the Delhi High Court refused Kejriwal’s petition and asked him to approach the trial court for bail.

After the setback from the High Court, Kejriwal filed two pleas before the apex court, challenging the legality of his arrest by the CBI and seeking bail.

After hearing all sides in the case, the bench reserved its verdict on September 5.

The court granted the bail plea and rejected the second plea challenging the legality of his arrest.

Justice Ujjal Bhuyan’s scathing observation against CBI

Justice Ujjal Bhuyan, in his separate judgment, lashed out at the CBI and stated that Kejriwal’s arrest by the agency after securing bail in the ED case was only intended to frustrate his release from prison. “The CBI did not feel the need to arrest him, even though he was interrogated in March 2023, and it was only after his ED arrest was stayed that the CBI became active and sought custody of Kejriwal. Thus, there was no need for his arrest for over 22 months. Such actions by the CBI raise serious questions about the timing of the arrest, and this arrest by the CBI was solely to frustrate the bail granted in the ED case,” Bar and Bench quoted Justice Bhuyan as saying.

He further criticised the Central probe agency, stating, “The CBI must be seen as above board, and every effort must be made to ensure that arrests are not carried out in a high-handed manner. In this country, perception matters, and the CBI must dispel the notion of being a ‘caged parrot’ and show that it is an uncaged parrot. The CBI should be like Caesar’s wife, above suspicion,” he said in his order.

Investigative agencies have accused Kejriwal of misconduct in drafting the now-scrapped 2021-22 Delhi excise policy.

Kejriwal was initially arrested by the ED on March 21 in connection with the case.

Although the Supreme Court later granted him interim bail in the ED case, he remained in jail because the CBI formally arrested him on June 26 while he was already in judicial custody related to the ED investigation.

National News

Aligarh Police Sub-Inspector Sits On Railway Tracks To End Life After Alleged Harassment By Judge, Saved by Cops

Published

on

Vigilant police officers saved Sub-Inspector Sachin Kumar’s life as he attempted suicide by sitting on railway tracks in Uttar Pradesh’s Aligarh, allegedly due to harassment by Judge Abhishek Tripathi. Judge Tripathi has yet to respond to the allegations.

A video of the incident has surfaced on social media, showing several policemen approaching Kumar while he was sitting on the tracks. They are seen lifting him up and reassuring him, with one officer saying, “What happened? It’s okay. Stand up.” Kumar responded, “No sir, I don’t want to listen to anything.”

In the video, Kumar explains that the judge had repeatedly summoned him to his chamber, verbally abused him, and threatened him. Despite this, his colleagues managed to persuade him to leave the tracks.

According to reports, Kumar had recently arrested five individuals for bike theft and presented them in court. However, Judge Tripathi accused him of detaining innocent people and misbehaving. Distressed by these accusations, Kumar attempted to take his own life.

The police are investigating the incident to clarify the circumstances and address the concerns raised.

4 dead, 6 injured in explosion at firecracker factory in Firozabad

Meanwhile, in a separate incident, four people have died and six people who were injured are undergoing treatment after an explosion occurred at a firecracker factory in Firozabad’s Naushera on Tuesday, said senior police official on Tuesday.

The House has collapsed due to the explosion and several people are feared to be trapped under rubble, said police.

“In Shikohabad PS area, firecrackers were stored at a house and a blast occurred there. Due to the impact of the blast, the roof of a nearby house collapsed. Police took out 10 people from the debris…6 people are undergoing treatment at a hospital and 4 people have died…further rescue operation is still underway,”

Meanwhile, Firozabad District Magistrate Ramesh Ranjan said that the rescue operations are underway.

“Rescue team is present at the spot. District hospital and sub-district hospital, both are on high alert…team of doctors, ambulance, fire team, disaster team, all are present at the spot,” Firozabad District Magistrate Ramesh Ranjan said.

Continue Reading

National News

AAP To Announce New Delhi Chief Minister At 12 PM Today After Arvind Kejriwal Announces To Quit As CM

Published

on

The Aam Aadmi Party will announce Delhi’s new Chief Minister at 12:00 PM. The party has stated that the name of the new Chief Minister will be revealed after the meeting of the legislative assembly members at noon. Today, Delhi’s Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is expected to resign from his post, a decision he announced on Sunday. Following Kejriwal’s announcement, speculation has been rife about who will be chosen as the next Chief Minister of Delhi.

According to sources, Kejriwal’s close aide and Delhi government minister Atishi may be entrusted with the responsibility of Chief Minister until the upcoming Delhi Assembly election results are announced.

Apart from Atishi, names like Manish Sisodia, Raghav Chadha, and other AAP leaders are also being considered in the race for the Chief Minister’s post.

Frontrunners In CM Race

Among the leading candidates to potentially replace Kejriwal are Atishi, a prominent AAP minister, along with senior party members such as Saurabh Bhardwaj, Raghav Chadha, Kailash Gahlot, and Sanjay Singh. .

Kejriwal has called for Delhi elections to be held in November, aligning them with Maharashtra’s elections, even though Delhi’s assembly polls are scheduled for February next year. He claims that the public is eager to re-elect him.

The opposition has reacted strongly to Kejriwal’s resignation announcement. The BJP has ridiculed the delay, questioning why he hasn’t resigned immediately, while the Delhi Congress labeled the move a political gimmick, highlighting that Kejriwal didn’t step down during major crises like the recent floods and water shortages in the capital.

Continue Reading

Crime

Andhra Pradesh Govt Suspends Three IPS Officers Over Actress Harassment Case

Published

on

The Andhra Pradesh government on Sunday suspended three senior IPS officers following an inquiry into the allegations made by a Mumbai-based actress, Kadambari Jethwani. The state government issued orders suspending P. Sitharama Anjaneyulu, then Director General of Police, Intelligence; Kanthi Rana Tata, the then Commissioner of Police, Vijayawada, and Vishal Gunni, then Deputy Commissioner of Police, Vijayawada.

She and her parents allegedly faced harassment at the hands of police officers at the instance of a leader of YSR Congress, which was then the ruling party in Andhra Pradesh. The suspensions were issued under Rule 3 (1) of the All India Services (Discipline & Appeal) Rules, 1969. Sitharama Anjaneyulu has been suspended on allegations of misuse of power and grave misconduct.

He had allegedly instructed the other two officials to arrest the actress, even before a formal crime had been registered. There are allegations that Kanthi Rana Tata arrested the actress based on oral instructions from his superior on January 31, 2024, before the registration of the FIR on February 2.

Continue Reading
Advertisement
Advertisement

Trending