Former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, his former deputy Manish Sisodia, and 21 others were discharged in the Delhi excise policy case after a city court refused to take cognisance of the Central Bureau of Investigation’s chargesheet, citing lack of evidence and significant gaps in the investigation.
A special court on Friday discharged all 23, observing that the chargesheet filed by the CBI contained several lacunae and was not supported by adequate material to justify proceeding to trial.
Special Judge Jitendra Singh ruled that the evidence presented failed to establish sufficient grounds for prosecution in the alleged corruption case linked to the now-scrapped excise policy.
The judge pointed to “misleading averments” in the chargesheet and noted that the voluminous document contained multiple gaps that were not corroborated by evidence or witness testimony.
“The chargesheet suffers from internal contradictions, striking at the root of the conspiracy theory,” Judge Singh said in his order.
He further observed that, in the absence of supporting evidence, the allegations against Kejriwal could not be sustained, adding that implicating an individual without cogent material was inconsistent with the rule of law.
Regarding Sisodia, the court said there was no material on record indicating his involvement in the alleged offence, nor had any recovery been made from him.
The CBI had been probing alleged irregularities in the formulation and implementation of the liquor policy introduced by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Delhi. The policy was later withdrawn amid political controversy and multiple investigations.
Reacting to the court’s decision, Kejriwal described the case as the “biggest political conspiracy in the history of independent India.” He said the order vindicated him and his party, asserting that it proved the Aam Aadmi Party’s claim of being “kattar imaandar” (completely honest).