Delhi Court Clears Kejriwal and Sisodia in High-Profile Excise Policy Case
In a significant legal development, the Rouse Avenue court in New Delhi on Friday acquitted former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia in the high-profile 2022 Delhi excise policy case. Special judge Jitendra Singh delivered the verdict, bringing closure to a case that had been under investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
Background and Court Proceedings
The court had previously reserved its decision on February 12 after extensive hearings that included detailed arguments from both the CBI and the defense teams representing Kejriwal, Sisodia, and 21 other co-accused individuals. At the time the case was initially registered, Kejriwal was serving as Delhi's chief minister with Sisodia as his deputy, making this a politically sensitive investigation from its inception.
The CBI had filed its first chargesheet in 2022, followed by multiple supplementary chargesheets as the investigation progressed. The central agency had alleged that a substantial payment of Rs 100 crore was made by what they described as a "south lobby" to influence the now-scrapped excise policy in their favor.
The Accused and Legal Arguments
The case involved a total of 23 individuals who were formally chargesheeted, including prominent figures such as:
- K Kavitha
- Kuldeep Singh
- Narender Singh
- Vijay Nair
- Abhishek Boinpally
- Arun Ramchandra Pillai
- Mootha Goutam
- Sameer Mahendru
- Amandeep Singh Dhall
- Arjun Pandey
- Butchibabu Gornatla
- Rakesh Joshi
- Damodar Prasad Sharma
- Prince Kumar
- Chanpreet Singh Rayat
- Arvind Kumar Singh
- Durgesh Pathak
- Amit Arora
- Vinod Chauhan
- Ashish Mathur
- P Sarath Chadra Reddy
During the court proceedings, the CBI, represented by additional solicitor general D P Singh and advocate Manu Mishra, maintained a firm position that the offense of criminal conspiracy should be examined in its entirety. The prosecution argued that there was adequate material evidence to proceed with framing charges against all the accused individuals and that the sufficiency of evidence should be properly tested during a full trial.
Defense Arguments and Key Contentions
On the opposing side, senior advocate N Hariharan, representing Arvind Kejriwal, presented a compelling defense that challenged the prosecution's case. Hariharan contended that there was no incriminating material directly linking his client to the alleged conspiracy. He emphasized that Kejriwal was merely performing his official duties as chief minister when the excise policy was formulated and implemented.
The defense raised several critical points that ultimately influenced the court's decision:
- Kejriwal was not named in the initial chargesheet filed by the CBI
- His name did not appear in the first three supplementary chargesheets
- He was only included in the fourth supplementary chargesheet, which the defense argued merely repackaged earlier allegations without substantial new evidence
- The defense questioned the legal basis for further investigation and challenged the evidentiary value of statements, including those from approver Raghav Magunta
Bro Implications and Conclusion
This acquittal represents a significant legal victory for Kejriwal and Sisodia, who have maintained their innocence throughout the prolonged investigation and court proceedings. The case had attracted substantial political attention given the high-profile nature of the accused and the serious allegations involved.
The court's decision to acquit all 23 accused suggests that the evidence presented by the CBI was insufficient to establish a prima facie case requiring a full trial. This development is likely to have political ramifications in Delhi and potentially influence public perception of both the accused politicians and the investigating agency's handling of the case.
As with all court verdicts, this decision is subject to appeal by the prosecution if they choose to challenge the acquittal in a higher court. However, for now, the legal cloud that had been hanging over Kejriwal, Sisodia, and their co-accused has been lifted by the Rouse Avenue court's ruling.
