A Delhi court on Friday discharged former Chief Minister of Delhi and Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal and senior AAP leader Manish Sisodia in the corruption case linked to the alleged excise policy scam. Special Judge Jitender Singh of the Rouse Avenue Courts also cleared all 23 accused in the matter.
The court observed that the CBI’s investigation suffered from serious shortcomings and noted that the voluminous chargesheet contained several gaps that were not supported by witness statements or evidence. It held that the agency failed to establish a prima facie case against Sisodia and remarked that Kejriwal had been named without any credible material to support the allegations.
The judge stated that large portions of the chargesheet did not align with witness testimonies and contained misleading assertions. The court further pointed out internal contradictions in the prosecution’s case, which, according to the judge, undermined the very foundation of the alleged conspiracy, Live Law reported.
While discharging Kuldeep Singh, who had been named as the primary accused, the court expressed surprise over his implication, observing that there was no material on record against him. In Sisodia’s case, the court noted that there was no evidence demonstrating his role in the formulation or implementation of the excise policy, nor was there any recovery made from him.
With regard to Kejriwal, the court concluded that his implication was unsupported by cogent material and said that attributing involvement to a person holding a constitutional post without foundational evidence was inconsistent with the rule of law. The court added that, in the absence of any substantive material or witness statements, the allegation of Kejriwal’s role in the alleged conspiracy could not be sustained.
The court also directed that a departmental inquiry be initiated against the investigating officer of the CBI for lapses in the probe.
It was noted that the excise policy had been framed by the Delhi government in 2021 with the stated objective of increasing revenue and reforming the liquor trade, but was later withdrawn after allegations of irregularities surfaced. The Lieutenant Governor had ordered a CBI probe into the policy following these allegations.
The Enforcement Directorate and the CBI had claimed that the policy led to undue benefits for private players at the expense of the public exchequer. Sisodia had earlier been arrested by the CBI in February 2023 and later by the ED in March 2023 in related cases. The agencies had alleged that he played a key role in recommending and approving decisions related to the excise policy without proper authorisation and had not cooperated with the investigation.
Kejriwal was formally arrested by the CBI in June 2024 while he was in custody of the ED in a connected money laundering case arising from the same allegations.