The CBI challenged a special court's order discharging Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and 22 others in the Excise Policy case. The court had found no prima facie case, but the CBI has now approached the Delhi High Court against the decision.
The troubles of Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal and 22 others are not over yet as the Central Bureau of Investigation approached the Delhi High Court challenging the trial court's order discharging the accused in the Delhi Excise Policy case.
The CBI move came shortly after a special court in Delhi held that there was no overarching conspiracy or criminal intent in the formulation of the excise policy and ruled that the prosecution's case did not withstand judicial scrutiny. Special Judge (PC Act) Jitender Singh of the Rouse Avenue Court observed that the CBI had attempted to construct a narrative of criminal conspiracy, but its theory was based on conjectures rather than concrete and admissible evidence. The Court found that no prima facie case was made out against any of the 23 accused and accordingly ordered their discharge, sending a wave of joy among the AAP supporters.
'Truth Emerges Victorious': Kejriwal Reacts
Arvind Kejriwal, upon receiving the good news, broke down outside the court as he emphasised that he was not corrupt, adding that the court had said that both he and Manish Sisodia were "kattar imandaar (brutally honest)". Kejriwal also accused PM Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah of hatching the biggest political conspiracy of independent India. He also alleged that the BJP planned to finish the Aam Aadmi Party by putting its top five leaders while asserting that he has always said that the "truth emerges victorious."
"I am not corrupt. The court has said that Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia are honest. Today, the court has discharged all accused in this case. We always said that the truth emerges victorious. We have full faith in the Indian legal system. Amit Shah and Modi ji together hatched the biggest political conspiracy to finish AAP and 5 big leaders of the party were put in jail. The sitting CM was dragged out of his house and put in jail. Kejriwal is not corrupt. I have only earned honesty in my life. Today, the court has said that Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and AAP are honest," Kejriwal said.
Sisodia Slams 'Conspiracy'
Former Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia called it an important day in the history of Indian politics and also accused PM Narendra Modi of hatching a conspiracy. "This is a really important day for the politics of the country. Narendra Modi ji was hatching a conspiracy with the strength of ED and CBI just to be in power; that conspiracy has been foiled...The country is questioning him today...SC had already said that the case won't stand the trial. Today, the judge said the same...An inquiry has been set up on the CBI officer. BJP should admit that they were lying," said Sisodia.
'Historic Day': Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann
Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann said, "Today is a significant and historic day in Indian politics. The Court acquitted the AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal, and 23 others who were jailed on false charges, implicating them in the liquor scam, in order to stop the Aam Aadmi Party's spread across the country... I would like to congratulate those who prayed and those who support honest politics in the country.
INDIA Bloc Allies Extend Support
The INDIA bloc allies also extended support to Kejriwal with Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav termed the developments in the national capital a vindication of truth and justice. In a social media post, Yadav said, "Today, in Delhi, both truth and justice stand alongside the esteemed former Chief Minister Shri Arvind Kejriwal ji. No accusation can ever be so grand that it shrouds the truth. Every honest soul will breathe a sigh of hopeful relief, while BJP supporters must be writhing in deep shame and profound self-reproach. The BJP has betrayed the residents of Delhi."
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray said Kejriwal proved "Bharatiya Janata Party's game will not work" "Whenever elections approach, they try to defame anyone from the opposition and win the elections. Today, Kejriwal not only won the case but also proved that the BJP's game will not work every time. We are very proud of Arvind Kejriwal and the case he has fought along with Manish Sisodia... The hope is that the BJP will apologise to Arvind Kejriwal, and the independence of the institution now remains," he said.
Congress Terms Move a 'Predictable Script'
However, the relief to Kejriwal did not sit well with Congress, which termed the decision as BJP's "predictable script" to harm the party ahead of Punjab and Gujarat elections. Congress leader Pawan Khera referred to AAP as the BJP's "convenient allies" as he suggested that this move comes to fulfil its "obsessive goal of Congress-free India".
"Elections are coming. So the script is entirely predictable. There will be a sudden surge in cases against Congress leaders, P Chidambaram is being dragged back into the headlines again because elections are due in Tamil Nadu. Meanwhile, on the other side, the proceedings against their "convenient allies" in the Aam Aadmi Party and others will quietly fizzle out in view of the Gujarat and Punjab elections," he said in a post on X. "The BJP is not a political party. It is a wish-fulfilling serpent with the power to change its form. It has only one obsessive goal: to defeat the Congress and create a Congress-free India. For this goal, it can stoop to any level," he added.
Congress leader Abhishek Dutt said that Kejriwal gets relief from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) whenever elections come, implying that it was the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) way of "election management" to divide the vote. Speaking with ANI, Dutt said, "This is a trend whenever elections come, Kejriwal gets relief from the CBI, and the CBI starts chasing the Congress. This is the BJP's way of election management. Why didn't they investigate the DTC scam? Why didn't they investigate the Mohalla Clinic scam? They had the entire list. This is just an election stunt, because they want to divide Congress votes in the upcoming elections."
List of Discharged Accused
Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, K Kavitha, Kuldeep Singh, Narender Singh, Vijay Nair, Abhishek Boinpally, Arun Ramchandra Pillai, Mootha Goutam, Sameer Mahendru, Amandeep Singh Dhall, Arjun Pandey, Butchibabu Gornatla, Rakesh Joshi, Damodar Prasad Sharma, Prince Kumar, Chanpreet Singh Rayat, Arvind Kumar Singh, Durgesh Pathak, Amit Arora, Vinod Chauhan, Ashish Mathur, and P Sarath Chadra Reddy was discharged by the court.
Details of the Allegations
The central agencies had alleged that irregularities were committed while modifying the excise policy in 2021-22, undue favours were extended to licence holders, the licence fee was waived or reduced, and the L-1 licence was extended without the competent authority's approval. The beneficiaries diverted "illegal" gains to the accused officials and made false entries in their books of account to evade detection, the probe agencies said.
As per the allegations, the Excise Department had decided to refund the earnest money deposit of about Rs 30 crore to a successful tenderer against the set rules. Even though there was no enabling provision, a waiver on tendered licence fees was allowed from December 28, 2021, to January 27, 2022, due to COVID-19, the probe agency said, and there was an alleged loss of Rs 144.36 crore to the exchequer. (ANI)
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