Delhi court grants major relief to Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia in liquor excise policy case

A Delhi court acquitted former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and former Deputy CM Manish Sisodia in the excise policy case, citing lack of evidence and failure by the CBI to prove criminal conspiracy or corruption allegations

 New Delhi: In a significant development, former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia have been acquitted in the high-profile Delhi liquor excise policy case.

The Rouse Avenue Court observed that there was no evidence against the two leaders, granting them a major reprieve. The court emphasised the importance of a fair investigation to ensure a fair trial, noting that the prosecution had failed to substantiate its allegations.

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Regarding Sisodia, the court stated that the charges levelled by the CBI lacked merit, no criminal conspiracy could be established, and the prosecution was unable to prove its case. The decision comes after the court reserved its verdict on February 12, following detailed arguments from the CBI and the defence.

Alongside Kejriwal and Sisodia, 21 other individuals were also accused in the case. At the time the matter arose, Kejriwal was serving as Delhi Chief Minister and Sisodia as his deputy. The CBI had filed its first charge sheet in 2022 and subsequently submitted several supplementary charge sheets.

The agency had alleged that approximately Rs 100 crore was paid by a “south lobby” to influence the now-cancelled excise policy in its favour.

During arguments, the CBI contended that the alleged offence of criminal conspiracy needed to be assessed as a whole and claimed that there was sufficient material to frame charges against all the accused.

However, the court found that the prosecution’s evidence was insufficient to sustain the allegations, resulting in the acquittal of both Kejriwal and Sisodia. The judgment marks a significant legal relief for the Aam Aadmi Party leaders, ending a high-profile investigation that had been under judicial scrutiny for several years.

The AAP chief was arrested by the ED and the CBI on March 21, 2024 and June 26, 2024, respectively, in the money laundering and corruption cases. The excise policy was scrapped in 2022 after the L-G ordered a CBI probe into alleged irregularities and corruption involving its formulation and execution.