Do ordinary mortals get this much time? Supreme Court on arguments in Arvind Kejriwal bail plea

The Supreme Court on Thursday expressed concern over the amount of time being spent on Arvind Kejriwal petition for bail in the Delhi Excise Policy case. [Arvind Kejriwal v. Central Bureau of Investigation].A Bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan made the remark as Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for Kejriwal, was arguing in detail about the alleged illegality of the arrest by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).The Court suggested that such extensive hearings are rarely afforded in routine bail pleas."Both sides we will hear. But we are wondering how long we should hear in a bail matter. Do ordinary mortals get this much time?" the Court questioned..The Bench was hearing the plea filed by the jailed Delhi Chief Minister to quash his arrest by the central agency and to release him on interim bail.The CBI had earlier contended that Kejriwal is likely to tamper with evidence and hamper its ongoing probe in the Delhi Excise Policy case, if he is released on interim bail..The Delhi High Court had on August 5 refused Kejriwal's pleas in this regard, and asked him to approach the trial court for bail.This led to the instant appeals by Kejriwal before the apex court.The Supreme Court had on August 14 sought the response of the CBI in the matter, but refused bail at that stage..The CBI arrested Kejriwal on June 26 while he was in judicial custody in connection with a money laundering case probed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).He and other Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders are accused of hatching a criminal conspiracy to create loopholes in the Delhi Excise Policy to favour some liquor sellers. The investigation agencies have alleged that the funds garnered from this exercise were used to fund the AAP's election campaign in Goa.He was first arrested by ED on March 26, but was later granted interim bail by the Supreme Court in the ED case.However, he continued to remain in jail since he is yet to get bail in the CBI case..Manish Sisodia verdict: Supreme Court criticises High Court, trial court for "playing it safe" in bail matters.The Supreme Court had recently granted bail to former Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi Manish Sisodia and former AAP media in-charge Vijay Nair, in connection with the same case.It had taken critical note of the fact that High Courts and trial courts appeared to be "playing it safe" when they routinely deny bail in criminal cases instead of granting bail as the norm.