<p class="bodytext">The discharge of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and 22 others in the Delhi excise policy case has lent credence to charges of government-run persecution campaigns against opposition leaders. The Delhi Rouse Avenue Court’s ruling and observations, while providing relief to those discharged, including former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia and Telangana politician K Kavitha, are also an indictment of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which conducted the probe. Finding “no overarching conspiracy or criminal intent” behind the excise policy, the court said the CBI attempted to construct a narrative of conspiracy “based on conjecture rather than concrete evidence”. There is no legal merit in the charge of manipulation presented in the prosecution’s case, it observed. In the ruling, the court also noted contradictions in the case and discrepancies in the methods the CBI employed during the investigation.</p>.Delhi liquor policy case: All accused, including Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia discharged as court rejects CBI chargesheet.<p class="bodytext">The CBI registered its case in August 2022 under various sections, charging that Rs 100 crore was paid by a lobby to influence the excise policy in favour of certain manufacturers. Kejriwal, then the chief minister, and others who were arrested and jailed had to fight long legal battles to secure bail. It should be noted that the discharge is not the final affirmation of the innocence of the accused – it is not an acquittal after trial. The court has ordered termination of the proceedings altogether as the charges have not been found substantial enough to warrant a trial.</p>.<p class="bodytext">For Kejriwal, who broke down after the verdict, this is a vindication of his position that he was being hounded for political reasons. The CBI said it would appeal the ruling in the High Court. Kejriwal and the others are also facing an Enforcement Directorate (ED) case with similar charges. However, the court’s ruling is emphatic, and the observation that the case fails judicial scrutiny underlines the suspicion raised over the case's political designs. The judge, Jitendra Singh, concluded his order by citing a quote by Martin Luther King Jr: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”. The Central government and the BJP had made much of the case, steering political narratives to cause serious setbacks to Kejriwal, including a loss of reputation and power in Delhi. What the ruling does to the political stakes of the former chief minister remains to be seen. But it supplements the larger Opposition bloc’s long-held contention that investigating agencies are being used to secure political gains.</p>
<p class="bodytext">The discharge of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and 22 others in the Delhi excise policy case has lent credence to charges of government-run persecution campaigns against opposition leaders. The Delhi Rouse Avenue Court’s ruling and observations, while providing relief to those discharged, including former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia and Telangana politician K Kavitha, are also an indictment of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which conducted the probe. Finding “no overarching conspiracy or criminal intent” behind the excise policy, the court said the CBI attempted to construct a narrative of conspiracy “based on conjecture rather than concrete evidence”. There is no legal merit in the charge of manipulation presented in the prosecution’s case, it observed. In the ruling, the court also noted contradictions in the case and discrepancies in the methods the CBI employed during the investigation.</p>.Delhi liquor policy case: All accused, including Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia discharged as court rejects CBI chargesheet.<p class="bodytext">The CBI registered its case in August 2022 under various sections, charging that Rs 100 crore was paid by a lobby to influence the excise policy in favour of certain manufacturers. Kejriwal, then the chief minister, and others who were arrested and jailed had to fight long legal battles to secure bail. It should be noted that the discharge is not the final affirmation of the innocence of the accused – it is not an acquittal after trial. The court has ordered termination of the proceedings altogether as the charges have not been found substantial enough to warrant a trial.</p>.<p class="bodytext">For Kejriwal, who broke down after the verdict, this is a vindication of his position that he was being hounded for political reasons. The CBI said it would appeal the ruling in the High Court. Kejriwal and the others are also facing an Enforcement Directorate (ED) case with similar charges. However, the court’s ruling is emphatic, and the observation that the case fails judicial scrutiny underlines the suspicion raised over the case's political designs. The judge, Jitendra Singh, concluded his order by citing a quote by Martin Luther King Jr: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”. The Central government and the BJP had made much of the case, steering political narratives to cause serious setbacks to Kejriwal, including a loss of reputation and power in Delhi. What the ruling does to the political stakes of the former chief minister remains to be seen. But it supplements the larger Opposition bloc’s long-held contention that investigating agencies are being used to secure political gains.</p>
