A Delhi court has ordered the registration of a case against Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal and two other party leaders over allegations of misusing public funds for political advertisements.
This decision comes as another setback for Kejriwal, who is already out on bail in connection with the alleged Delhi liquor policy scam and recently suffered a major electoral defeat in the Delhi Assembly elections, including in his own New Delhi constituency.
The case, which dates back to 2019, was initially dismissed by a lower court. However, a petition seeking legal action against Kejriwal, along with AAP leaders Gulab Singh and Nikita Sharma, was recently reviewed by the Rouse Avenue Court.
The court has now directed the Delhi Police to register a First Information Report (FIR) and submit a compliance report by March 18.
During its tenure in Delhi, the AAP government has frequently faced accusations of misusing taxpayer money for self-promotion. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has consistently criticised Kejriwal’s government for allegedly spending public funds on advertisements rather than governance.
In January last year, the Directorate of Information and Publicity had demanded that the AAP reimburse ₹163.62 crore, including interest, for allegedly using public money for political promotions.
The BJP has also claimed that the AAP government spent more on advertising its welfare schemes than on their actual implementation.
One such example was the Business Blasters scheme, which aimed to support young entrepreneurs in Delhi schools. The BJP alleged that while only ₹54 crore was allocated for the scheme itself, ₹80 crore was spent on its publicity.
Similarly, in the Desh Ke Mentor initiative, which connected students with volunteer mentors, ₹1.9 crore was assigned for execution, while ₹27.9 crore was used for promotions.
Another controversy surrounded the Stubble Management scheme, where the government allegedly spent ₹28 crore on advertisements despite allocating only ₹77 lakh for the actual programme.
The AAP has denied these allegations, calling them politically motivated.
Apart from advertisements, the party also faced criticism over the renovation of the Delhi chief minister’s official residence.
The BJP accused Kejriwal’s government of extravagance, dubbing the upgraded residence ‘Sheeshmahal’. The AAP defended the renovation, arguing that the building was originally constructed in 1942 and required urgent repairs.
The party maintained that the Public Works Department had recommended the upgrades. However, this controversy is believed to have contributed to AAP’s poor performance in the Delhi Assembly elections.
The electoral setback was significant for AAP. Once holding a dominant 62 out of 70 seats in the Assembly, the party was reduced to just 22 seats in the recent polls. The BJP, on the other hand, secured 48 seats, forming a government in Delhi after a gap of 26 years.
Kejriwal himself suffered a personal defeat in the New Delhi constituency, losing to BJP’s Parvesh Verma by a margin of over 4,000 votes. This loss marked a dramatic shift in Delhi’s political landscape and raised questions about AAP’s future strategies.
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