Kejriwal breaks down as court clears him, Sisodia in Delhi excise policy case; CBI chargesheet dismissed. Photos: X.
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal broke down in court on Friday as he was cleared in the Delhi excise policy corruption case.
Kejriwal recalled that he had once been “picked up” from his home and sent to jail, an experience he said did not break him. But the court’s decision to clear him of all charges in the alleged liquor policy scam moved him to tears.
“I am not corrupt. The court has said that Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia are honest,” he said after the order.
The order was delivered by Special Judge Jitendra Singh of the Rouse Avenue Court, who discharged Kejriwal and former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia in the corruption case linked to the now-scrapped excise policy.
The court refused to take cognisance of the chargesheet filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the matter.
The judge observed that there was “no material at all” against the accused persons to support the agency’s case. The court further held that the “voluminous chargesheet” contained several lacunae and was not backed by any witness or statement.
The court said the CBI failed to establish a prima facie case against Sisodia and noted that Kejriwal had been implicated without any cogent material.
All 23 accused persons in the case were discharged.
Kejriwal and Sisodia were among those arrested in connection with the case, which the CBI had been probing over allegations of corruption in the formulation and implementation of the erstwhile AAP government’s excise policy.
Both leaders were taken into custody while serving as Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi, respectively.
The New Delhi Excise Policy 2021–22 allowed private players to enter the retail liquor sale market. However, the policy was scrapped by the then AAP government in July 2022 following allegations of irregularities.
In July 2022, Delhi Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena recommended a CBI probe into the policy. The investigation led to raids at the premises of Sisodia and the arrest of several AAP leaders.
In January, a Delhi court had also acquitted Kejriwal in two separate cases filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The cases pertained to allegations that he had skipped summonses issued by the federal agency during its probe into the excise policy matter.
Zubair Amin is a Senior Journalist at NewsX with over seven years of experience in reporting and editorial work. He has written for leading national and international publications, including Foreign Policy Magazine, Al Jazeera, The Economic Times, The Indian Express, The Wire, Article 14, Mongabay, News9, among others. His primary focus is on international affairs, with a strong interest in US politics and policy. He also writes on West Asia, Indian polity, and constitutional issues. Zubair tweets at zubaiyr.amin
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