Kejriwal, Sisodia discharged in Delhi liquor policy case; CBI to appeal in HC

Former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his deputy Manish Sisodia were discharged on Friday (February 27) from the liquor policy corruption case by a Delhi court. The court also discharged 21 other accused in the case.

"There was no overarching conspiracy or criminal intent in the excise policy,” stated the court as reported by the Bar and Bench.

'Prosecution case fails judicial scrutiny'

The court further stated that the case made by the prosecution does not survive judicial scrutiny, adding that the CBI attempted to set up a narrative depending on mere conjecture.

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It chided the CBI for building the case with statements of approvers. "If such conduct is allowed, it would be a grave violation of the Constitutional principles. The conduct where an accused is granted pardon and then made an approver, his statements used to fill the gaps in the investigation/narrative and make additional people accused is wrong," the judge said.

However, the CBI has decided to challenge the order in the Delhi High Court.

The agency feels that the appeal is necessary since several aspects of the investigation have either been "ignored or not considered" by the trial court, they said.

"The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has decided to appeal in the high court against the judgment of the trial court immediately since several aspects of the investigation have either been ignored or not considered adequately," a CBI spokesperson said in a statement.

'Chargesheet lacked evidence'

The court said that the chargesheet had several lacunae not supported by evidence. The CBI has been probing alleged corruption in the formulation and execution of the erstwhile AAP government's now-scrapped excise policy.

According to a report by Live Law, the court held that the CBI had failed to make out a prima facie case against Sisodia. The judge said that Kejriwal was implicated without any cogent material.

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The Court observed that the chargesheet contained several lacunae and was not backed by any witness testimony or supporting evidence. While discharging the main accused, Kuldeep Singh, the judge remarked that it was surprising he had been named as the first accused when there was no material whatsoever against him.

With regard to Sisodia, who had been described as the person responsible for the formulation and implementation of the liquor policy, the Court stated that there was nothing on record to demonstrate his involvement, nor had any recovery been made.

Flags contradictions in CBI chargesheet

The Court further noted that the chargesheet was marked by internal contradictions that went to the very foundation of the alleged conspiracy. On Kejriwal, the judge held that he had been implicated without any cogent material, which runs contrary to the rule of law, particularly when the individual concerned occupies a constitutional office.

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In the absence of basic material, statement or evidence, the judge said, the attribution of Kejriwal to the alleged conspiracy could not be sustained. Senior Advocate N Hariharan and Advocate Mudit Jain appeared on behalf of Kejriwal.

Elaborating further, the court said that the “voluminous” CBI charge sheet did not support any of the witness statements, adding that there were “misleading averments”.

'Biggest political conspiracy': Kejriwal

Speaking to reporters after the verdict, Kejriwal asserted that the corruption case against him was the "biggest political conspiracy" in the history of Independent India, as a court here discharged him in the politically sensational liquor policy case.

Just as the verdict came, the three-time ex-Delhi chief minister broke down before reporters. "The court has proved that Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and AAP are 'Kattar Imaandar'," he said.

Kejriwal alleged that the "conspiracy" of the excise case was hatched to finish off AAP. It was entirely a fake case with the roles of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah behind its fabrication, Kejriwal alleged.

The backdrop

The issue, later referred to as the Delhi liquor policy case, had posed significant challenges for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief and his associate during their time in office in Delhi.

The case traces its origins to an excise policy introduced by the AAP government in 2021-22, which the Kejriwal administration had said would generate higher revenue compared to the previous system.

The Delhi government subsequently withdrew the policy.

(With agency inputs)