A Delhi court on Friday acquitted former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his then deputy Manish Sisodia in a corruption case related to the Excise Police, refusing to take cognizance of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) charges, news agency PTI reported.
The special CBI court, while dismissing the CBI and ED cases in the Delhi liquor policy, questioned the conduct of the two investigating agencies as they relied only on the statements of the approvers who were pardoned in those cases.
Special Judge Jitendra Singh said the prosecution had several loopholes, not supported by evidence, and acquitted 21 others in the matter, apart from the two Aam Aadmi Party leaders.
The court noted that the alleged central conspiratorial role could not be substantiated.
The court observed that the allegations “have not passed judicial scrutiny” and found “no criminal intent” on the part of Manish Sisodia. She further stated that a conspiracy theory “cannot survive against one constitutional body”.
Political conspiracy by Modi and Shah: Kejriwal
The CBI is investigating alleged corruption in the formulation and implementation of the erstwhile AAP government’s excise policy. The CBI is likely to challenge the order in the High Court, according to media reports.
“Today the court acquitted all the accused in this case. We have always said that the truth will prevail. We have full faith in the Indian legal system. Amit Shah and Modi jointly hatched it biggest political conspiracy to finish off AAP and 5 big leaders of the party were jailed. An honest CM was dragged out of his house and thrown in jail. Today the court put me in jail only corrupt. Kejriwal did not earn. I. said that Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and AAP are honest,” Kejriwal said after the court order.
what was that
The Arvind Kejriwal the government introduced the excise tax policy on 17 November 2021 but canceled it in September 2022 due to allegations of bribery.
The CBI filed its first charge in 2022, followed by several additional charges. The agency claimed it ₹100 million was paid to the “Southern lobby” to influence policy in their favor.
A total of 23 accused have been charged, including Arvind Kejriwala, Manish Sisodia, K Kavitha, Kuldeep Singh, Narender Singh, Vijay Nair, Abhishek Boinpally, Arun Ramchandra Pillai, Mootha Goutam, Sameer Mahendru, Amandeep Singh Pande Dhalshi, Butu Gordashla, Damodar Prasad Sharma, Prince Kumar, Chanpreet Singh Rayat, Arvind Kumar Singh, Durgesh Pathak, Amit Arora, Vinod Chauhan, Ashish Mathur and P Sarath Chadra Reddy.
Kejriwal and Sisodia were among those arrested in the case, which the central agency was investigating, alleging corruption in the formulation and implementation of the former AAP government’s policy, which has now been scrapped.
Kejriwal, as Chief Minister, and Sisodia, as Deputy Chief Minister, were arrested in connection with bribery charges in the Delhi Excise Police case. Both were later released on bail.
What did the CBI say in court?
During the arguments, the CBI argued that the offense of conspiracy must be considered as a whole and that the sufficiency of the evidence should be tested during the trial. The agency, represented by Additional Solicitor General DP Singh and Advocate Manu Mishra, argued that there was sufficient material to charge all the accused.
On the other hand, senior advocate N Hariharan, appearing for Kejriwal, argued that there was no incriminating material linking his client to the alleged conspiracy. He argued that the fourth supplementary charges naming Kejriwal merely repackaged the earlier charges and that Kejriwal was performing his official duties as Chief Minister.
Hariharan further said that Kejriwal was not named in the initial registration sheet or in the three earlier supplementary registrations. His name did not appear until the fourth. The defense also questioned the basis for further investigation and the probative value of statements, including that of approver Raghav Magunta
