Delhi liquor policy case: Kejriwal and Sisodia acquitted in CBI case

New Delhi, 27 February:
The Rouse Avenue Court has acquitted former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia in the Delhi Excise Scam case filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Special Judge Jitender Singh ordered the acquittal of the two.

The court said that the prosecution failed to prove the charges and no evidence of criminal conspiracy was found. During the hearing, the court repeatedly expressed dissatisfaction with the CBI and questioned the CBI's charge sheet. The court said that the documents provided by the CBI do not match the charge sheet. The court had reserved its order on framing charges against the accused on 12 February.

The CBI had named 23 people, including Kejriwal and Sisodia, as accused in the case. During the hearing, Kejriwal said that there was no solid evidence against him. Senior lawyer N. Hariharan, representing Kejriwal, said that Kejriwal was performing official duties and there was no evidence that Kejriwal had asked anyone to take money from the South Lobby. Hariharan said that Kejriwal's name was not included in the first three charge sheets. His name appeared in the fourth supplementary charge sheet.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had arrested Arvind Kejriwal on 21 March 2024 after questioning. On 10 May, the Supreme Court granted Kejriwal interim bail until 1 June, after which Kejriwal surrendered on 2 June 2024. Kejriwal was arrested by the CBI on 26 June 2024. The ED had filed the sixth supplementary charge sheet on 10 May 2024, in which Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS) leaders Ketka, Chanpreet Singh, Damodar Sharma, Prince Kumar, and Arvind Singh were named as accused. The court took notice of the sixth supplementary charge sheet on 29 May.

On 27 August, the Supreme Court granted bail to BRS leader Ketka in the CBI and ED case. On 13 September 2024, the Supreme Court granted Kejriwal regular bail in the CBI case. Earlier, the Supreme Court had granted Kejriwal interim bail in the ED case on 12 July 2024.