Harsh laws, even harsher bail provisions, investigations directed at political adversaries, protesting students, academics and journalists with the intent to topple and destabilise governments and silence dissent have become the order of the day. The Union government, working in tandem with the political party in power uses laws by weaponising their provisions.
We saw the spectacle of protesting Youth Congress workers at Bharat Mandapam, perhaps not an entirely engaging sight, being incarcerated under suspect provisions of the law. We have seen, in recent times, students of Jawaharlal Nehru University being proceeded against and incarcerated for objecting to the remarks of the vice chancellor.
We witnessed Umar Khalid and others languishing in jail for years without bail. In the case of Khalid, his release from prison is not in sight. We have seen journalists writing against industry giants being visited with successive FIRs. At the same time, we have also seen ministers and political leaders of the present government, both at the Centre and the states, who are knee-deep in corruption and often make communal remarks seeking to disturb public order, yet are not proceeded against by the investigating agencies, maintaining a stoic silence.
Now, we are seeing the unbundling of false and fabricated prosecutions with Special Judge Jitendra Pratap Singh discharging Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and 21 others in the liquor policy case. I wonder how a prosecution in a bribery case relating to the alleged Rs 100-crore scam could have been launched by the Central Bureau of Investigation without hard evidence. I wonder why those in power fail to realise how destructive it is for human dignity to be imprisoned on the mere plea that an investigation is underway.
Who will compensate Arvind Kejriwal for the 156 days he spent in custody? Who will compensate Manish Sisodia for the 530 days in jail? There is no accountability. In the process, the investigating agency at the behest of those in power, seeks to destroy reputations not just personally but politically. Incarceration results in personal agony when one is jailed alongside hardened criminals, thereby diminishing public confidence in the leaders of political parties.
For the court to find out after years of investigation that there was not even a prima facie case for the alleged criminal conspiracy or wrongdoing speaks volumes of the nature of investigation in our country. The finding that there was no evidence of an overarching conspiracy of criminal intent in the formulation of the 2021 excise policy, serious investigating lapses, reliance on uncorroborated statements, a chargesheet with significant gaps and implication of the accused without material, makes it apparent that the CBI, as an institution serves the political interests of the party in power.
It also raises questions about the efficacy of the investigating procedures adopted by it. In situations like these, it is impossible to restore the status quo ante. Sometimes, it could also lead to political death. Surely, this is not how the investigating agencies should conduct themselves.
The saga does not end here. Allegations against Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren, again without substance, found him in jail for five months; an act of obvious vendetta politics with the intent to destabilise his government just before the assembly elections in the state. The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha still won, a body blow to the targeted prosecution. Former Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel was targeted too, and his government was sought to be destabilised before the assembly elections. His son was later arrested along with thirteen others. The claim that such investigations are independent has been exposed.
The country now realises that all such probes are targeted. The unbundling of the allegations against former Haryana CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda, where the chargesheet filed in 2018 was quashed in February 2026, again because there was no prima facie case on the allegation that the Associated Journals Limited was allotted a plot of land at an undervalued price, is yet another example of targeted prosecution.
Former Bihar CMs Lalu Prasad Yadav and Tejashwi Yadav along with other family members were all sought to be prosecuted and summoned before a Delhi special court in a cooked-up case, again just before elections. The targeting of Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot, summons against Akhilesh Yadav, cases against Farooq and Omar Abdullah with CBI raids in 2018 and summons between 2019 and 2024 despite the Enforcement Directorate chargesheet having been quashed, summons against Mehbooba Mufti in 2021 and former Manipur CM Okram Ibobi Singh—all explain how false cases are foisted against political opponents, apart from demonstrating how generous the government is in targeting the opposition leaders and dissenting voices.
Of course, others against whom serious allegations were made, only to be won over by the BJP and rewarded with positions of power, indicate that all their sins are washed away instantly, but those who dare to oppose face prosecution and jail.
The question to be asked is: why has no minister or any politician of significance in the BJP been investigated at all, let alone with the same zeal with which opposition leaders are dealt with by the investigating agencies? The ED, established under the Prevention of Money-Laundering Act, seems to be an unbridled horse, a law unto itself. In the midst of all this, courts by and large are silent. The harsh provisions of the law are allowed to run their course and bail is granted in rare cases—that too, after long years in jail.
All is not well with our political system, but more than that, our political culture. Democracy needs men and women whose vision is not limited to sending opposition leaders to jail. Instead, we need to concentrate together on the serious challenges that our country faces. Given the necessity of debate and dialogue with all stakeholders, the country needs people of stature and commitment to realise the dreams of a Viksit Bharat.
The country hopes that in these chaotic times, the judiciary will stand up for justice consistent with the Constitution and laws.
Kapil Sibal | Senior lawyer and member of Rajya Sabha
(Views are personal)
(Tweets @KapilSibal)