The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has decided to appeal to the Delhi High Court against the lower court’s ruling, acquitting all 23 accused, including former Prime Minister Arvind Kejriwal, in the tax policy case.
According to the CBI, many aspects of the investigation were ignored or not adequately considered.
A Delhi court on Friday acquitted 23 accused, including former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his deputy Manish Sisodia, in connection with the CBI tax policy case filed in 2022, alleging conspiracy and corruption in formulating the liquor policy.
“The case does not survive judicial scrutiny.”
HT had earlier reported that the order was issued by Special Judge Jitender Singh of Ross Avenue Court.
The judge orally indicated that he found no material at all against the accused to support the prosecution’s evidence.
The court said that the prosecution’s case suffers from several internal contradictions that strike at the heart of the alleged conspiracy in politics.
The previous report quoted the court as saying, “The case does not escape judicial scrutiny.”
The judge also noted that “there are misleading expectations in the indictment… (the indictment) has many loopholes that do not support the evidence.”
A detailed order is awaited in this regard.
After the court’s decision, Kejriwal was seen breaking down while speaking to reporters.
“I am not corrupt. The court said that Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia are honest,” he said and burst into tears. He added that the excise issue was the biggest political conspiracy in the history of independent India.
Kejriwal along with 22 others, including former MP CM Manish Sisodia, is facing prosecution in the multi-crore excise policy cases, in which the CBI and Enforcement Directorate (ED) allege that the Delhi government’s liquor policy for 2021-22 was designed to favor some licensees in exchange for bribes, allegedly directed to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) campaign in Goa.
The CBI case was registered in August 2022 under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections on criminal conspiracy, cheating and causing disappearance of evidence, apart from the sections punishable under the Prevention of Corruption Act. It accuses Kejriwal and others of being directly involved in policy formulation.
