Supreme Court refuses to quash FIR against Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal

CBI had registered an FIR against Kejriwal and others in 2014 for alleged irregularities in the award of contracts during his tenure as Chief Minister

The court said there was no merit in the plea filed by Kejriwal and others seeking to quash the FIR

The Supreme Court on Monday refused to quash an FIR registered by the CBI against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and others in 2014 for alleged irregularities in the award of contracts during his tenure as Chief Minister.

A bench headed by Justice U.U. Lalit and Justices S. Ravindra Bhat and P.S. Narasimha said there was no merit in the plea filed by Kejriwal and others seeking to quash the FIR.

The CBI had registered an FIR against Kejriwal, his then Principal Secretary Rajendra Kumar and others in December 2014 on a complaint from the Delhi government's Vigilance Department.

The complaint alleged that Kejriwal and Kumar had abused their official position by awarding contracts to private firms in violation of rules.

The CBI had filed a closure report in the case in 2016, but the Delhi High Court had in 2017 ordered the agency to further investigate the matter.

The CBI had then filed a supplementary closure report in 2018, but the Delhi High Court had in 2019 quashed it and directed the agency to continue its investigation.

Kejriwal and others had then approached the Supreme Court, seeking to quash the FIR.

The Supreme Court on Monday said that the Delhi High Court was right in quashing the CBI's supplementary closure report.

The court said that the CBI had not properly investigated the matter and that there was sufficient material to show that Kejriwal and others had abused their official position.

The court said that the CBI must now complete its investigation and file a final report within three months.