Delhi court acquits Arvind Kejriwal in graft case

A court in Delhi today acquitted senior opposition leaders and former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and his ex-deputy Manish Sisodia in a politically-charged liquor policy case of alleged corruption by refusing to take cognisance of the prosecuting agency's charge sheet against them.

Special Judge Jitendra Singh, in a strongly worded ruling, said in the absence of any evidence, the allegations against Kejriwal could not be sustained and that the former chief minister had been implicated without any cogent evidence.

The Aam Aadmi Party convener was present in the court when the order was passed. 

An emotional Kejriwal called the corruption case against him the "biggest political conspiracy" in the history of independent India.

After the court verdict, Kejriwal broke down while talking to reporters. 

The case against the AAP chief and Sidodia was considered a major reason for their party's defeat in last year's Delhi assembly elections that brought the BJP back to power in the Indian capital after a long hiatus.   

Among the 21 people who were also given a clean chit along with Kejriwal and Sisodia in the case is another politician, Telangana Jagruthi President K Kavitha.

The judge said the voluminous chargesheet had several lacunas not corroborated by evidence or witnesses. "… The chargesheet suffers from internal contradictions, striking at the root of conspiracy theory," he said, adding this was inconsistent with the rule of law.

Regarding Sisodia, the judge said there was no material on record showing his involvement, nor had any recovery been made from him.

Singh rapped the Central Bureau of Investigation for lapses in the investigation, saying there was no cogent evidence against Kejriwal and there was no prima facie case against Sisodia and the other accused.

The CBI has been probing alleged corruption in the formulation and execution of the erstwhile Kejriwal government's now-scrapped excise policy.

The court underlined its finding of the absence of an overarching conspiracy or criminal intent in the excise policy while observing that the federal agency's case did not withstand judicial scrutiny, especially when the CBI sought to construct a narrative of conspiracy on mere conjecture.

It also slammed the agency for building its case through approver statements. 

"If such conduct is allowed, it would be a grave violation of the constitutional principles. The conduct where an accused is granted pardon and then made an approver, his statements used to fill the gaps in the investigation/narrative and make additional people accused is wrong," the court said. 

The case against Kejriwal and Sisodia arose from a report submitted in July 2022 by Delhi Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar to Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena, pointing to alleged procedural lapses in the formulation of the Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22.

Kejriwal spent nearly five months in jail in connection with the case, while Sisodia remained behind bars for around 17 months before securing bail from the Supreme Court in July 2024, so that he could campaign for parliamentary elections.