Delhi Excise Policy Case: In a major relief to the top leadership of the Aam Aadmi Party, a Delhi court on Friday were cleared of corruption and conspiracy charges linked to the alleged Delhi liquor excise policy case. The court refused to take cognisance of the chargesheet filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

Among the 21 individuals granted relief is K Kavitha, president of Telangana Jagruthi.

Moments after the verdict, the three-time former Delhi chief minister became emotional while recalling his arrest in March 2024. "I always used to say that the truth is with us. A sitting Chief Minister was dragged out of his home and thrown into jail. Mud was flung at us," he told media persons.

He described the corruption allegations as the "biggest political conspiracy" in the history of Independent India.

"The court has proved that Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and AAP are 'Kattar Imaandar'," he said.

Special Judge Jitendra Singh criticised the CBI’s investigation, observing that there was no cogent evidence against Kejriwal and no prima facie case against Sisodia or the other accused.

The court held that there was no overarching conspiracy or criminal intent behind the formulation of the excise policy and ruled that the prosecution’s case failed to pass judicial scrutiny.

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Delhi Excise Policy Case: What Court Said For Arvind Kejriwal

  • The court noted that the CBI attempted to build a conspiracy narrative, but said its theory rested on conjecture rather than solid evidence. The judge ruled that no prima facie case was made out against any of the 23 accused and ordered their discharge.
  • Pointing to "some misleading averments", the judge said the voluminous chargesheet contained several lacunae that were not supported by evidence or witness testimony. "... The chargesheet suffers from internal contradictions, striking at the root of conspiracy theory," the court said.
  • The court strongly criticised the agency’s investigative approach, especially its dependence on approver statements. It observed that granting pardon to an accused, converting him into an approver and then using his statement to fill investigative gaps or implicate others was improper. The judge cautioned that allowing such a practice would amount to a serious violation of constitutional principles.
  • The court said it would recommend a departmental inquiry against CBI officials for naming public servant Kuldeep Singh as accused number one in the case.

The case originated from allegations of corruption in the now-scrapped Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22 introduced by the AAP government. The CBI had alleged that the policy was framed to favour certain private entities by lowering licence fees and fixing profit margins, leading to kickbacks and financial losses to the Delhi government.

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An FIR was registered by the CBI in August 2022 following a complaint by Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena. The agency had claimed that a criminal conspiracy was hatched during the policy formulation stage, with alleged loopholes deliberately inserted to benefit specific liquor licensees after the tender process.

With Friday’s ruling, the Special Court has effectively brought the CBI’s case to an end at the trial court stage, holding that the allegations did not meet the threshold required for framing charges.