In a significant development, the Delhi High Court is set to deliberate on March 9 over the CBI’s bid to reverse the exoneration of Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, and 21 co-accused in the contentious Delhi Excise Policy scam of 2022. The agency’s criminal revision petition targets the Rouse Avenue Court’s emphatic rejection of charges against the group.
Justice Swarn Kanta Sharma’s bench has listed the matter, spotlighting the lower court’s 1,100-paragraph verdict that dismantled the CBI’s narrative as ‘judicially failed’ and devoid of foundation. The trial judge, after poring over voluminous documents and 300 witness testimonies, concluded no prima facie case existed to proceed to trial.
Lack of admissible evidence, the court ruled, barred subjecting the accused to prolonged litigation, terming it a perversion of justice. The policy in question, introduced by the AAP government for 2021-22, was withdrawn amid graft allegations involving kickbacks from liquor barons for political funding.
CBI claimed the framework was rigged to benefit private players, particularly the ‘South Group,’ leading to financial hemorrhage for public coffers through licensing anomalies. Yet, the trial court debunked this, affirming the policy’s legitimacy via standard procedural rigor.
Post-acquittal, Kejriwal decried the probe as politically motivated fiction, while Sisodia drew solace from party faithful. BJP’s Manoj Tiwari, however, dismissed the victory as premature, forecasting a High Court reversal. He highlighted the policy’s abrupt cancellation and alleged evidence tampering via discarded devices.
This showdown underscores deepening fault lines in India’s political-judicial arena. With AAP eyeing electoral battles, a CBI win could handcuff its leaders once more, while acquittal sustenance would bolster their anti-corruption crusade claims. Stakeholders await Justice Sharma’s verdict with bated breath.