National, Feb 27: In a landmark legal development on Friday, a Delhi Court discharged former Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener Arvind Kejriwal alongside former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia in the high-profile corruption case linked to the 2021-22 excise policy. Presiding over the Rouse Avenue Courts, Special Judge Jitendra Singh cleared all 23 accused individuals named in the matter, including Bharat Rashtra Samithi leader K. Kavitha and several prominent businessmen and AAP officials. The court’s exhaustive ruling effectively dismantled the prosecution’s narrative, which had alleged a deep-seated conspiracy to grant undue advantages to private entities through the privatization of the national capital’s liquor trade.
The verdict was accompanied by a scathing critique of the Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) conduct, with the court highlighting significant lapses and “misleading averments” within the voluminous chargesheet. Judge Singh observed that the thousands of pages submitted by the agency lacked supporting witness statements or cogent evidence, describing the case as riddled with internal contradictions that struck at the very root of the alleged conspiracy theory. The court expressed particular surprise at the implication of the primary accused, Kuldeep Singh, noting an absolute absence of material against him. Furthermore, the judge ordered a departmental inquiry into the CBI’s Investigating Officer to address the procedural and investigative shortcomings identified during the proceedings.
Regarding Manish Sisodia, who spent approximately 530 days in incarceration following his initial arrest in February 2023, the court found no evidence of his involvement in any illegal recovery or wrongdoing during the formulation of the liquor policy. The judge remarked that the CBI failed to establish even a prima facie case against the former Deputy Chief Minister. Similarly, the court ruled that Arvind Kejriwal had been implicated without any “cogent material,” a situation the judge deemed inconsistent with the rule of law, especially concerning an individual holding a constitutional post. The court concluded that in the absence of fundamental evidence or statements, the attribution of a conspiracy to Kejriwal could not be legally sustained.
The case originated from allegations of irregularities in the 2021 excise policy, which was intended to reform the liquor trade and boost state revenue before being withdrawn following a probe ordered by Lieutenant-Governor Vinay Kumar Saxena. While the CBI and Enforcement Directorate (ED) claimed the policy was used to favor private licensees at the public exchequer’s expense, the defense—led by Senior Advocates Rebecca M. John and N. Hariharan—successfully argued that the charges lacked a factual basis. This discharge marks the conclusion of a significant legal chapter for Kejriwal, who was formally arrested by the CBI in June 2024 while in ED custody and had been released on bail by the Supreme Court in September 2024.
