A Delhi court on Friday discharged former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia in the excise policy case, saying the case against them does not stand up to legal examination.
In an order delivered by the Rouse Avenue Court, the judge held that the prosecution had failed to establish the alleged ‘central conspiratorial role’.
The court said the claims did not pass judicial scrutiny and found no evidence of criminal intent against Sisodia. It also observed that the theory of conspiracy could not be sustained against a single constitutional authority.
According to news agency ANI, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had filed its first chargesheet in 2022 and later submitted several supplementary chargesheets. The agency alleged that Rs 100 crore was paid by a “south lobby” to influence the now-withdrawn excise policy.
Sources, meanwhile, said the CBI will move the Delhi High Court to challenge the Rouse Avenue Court judgment discharging Kejriwal and Sisodia in the excise policy case.
What the court said and how the case unfolded
The CBI has named 23 individuals in the case. Apart from Kejriwal and Sisodia, those chargesheeted include Rakesh Joshi, Butchibabu Gornatla, Kuldeep Singh, K Kavitha, Amandeep Singh Dhall, Arjun Pandey, Vijay Nair, Abhishek Boinpally, Damodar Prasad Sharma, Prince Kumar, Arun Ramchandra Pillai, Mootha Goutam, Sameer Mahendru, Chanpreet Singh Rayat, Narender Singh, Ashish Mathur, Arvind Kumar Singh, Durgesh Pathak, Amit Arora, Vinod Chauhan, and P Sarath Chadra Reddy.
During the hearings, the CBI argued that the alleged offence of criminal conspiracy should be examined as a whole and that the strength of evidence ought to be tested during trial. Represented by Additional Solicitor General DP Singh and advocate Manu Mishra, the agency told the court that there was enough material to frame charges against all the accused.
The defence took a different line. Senior advocate N Hariharan, appearing for Kejriwal, said there was no material linking his client to any conspiracy. He submitted that the fourth supplementary chargesheet, in which Kejriwal’s name appeared, repeated earlier claims. He argued that Kejriwal was carrying out his duties as Chief Minister at the time.
Hariharan also pointed out that Kejriwal was not named in the original chargesheet or in the first three supplementary chargesheets. His inclusion came only in the fourth. The defence further questioned the basis for continued investigation and raised concerns over the evidentiary value of certain statements, including that of approver Raghav Magunta.
Soon after the order, Sunita Kejriwal reacted on social media. “In this world, no matter how powerful one becomes, one cannot rise above Shiva Shakti. Truth always prevails,” she wrote.