In a major legal vindication for the Aam Aadmi Party, a Delhi court has discharged former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his former deputy, Manish Sisodia, in the high-profile excise policy case. This means that the CBI’s case against the pair is effectively closed, as the judge has ruled that the prosecution had failed to offer any concrete evidence in support of its claims.
The court was also scathing in its assessment of the claims that had been made against Kejriwal, stating that “serious allegations” of a central role in the conspiracy simply cannot be supported in the absence of material evidence. The judge also noted that such claims, if made against a public official, risk undermining the very “public confidence” that the prosecution is tasked with maintaining.
In an unusually raw and emotional moment, Kejriwal lashed out at the central government today, framing the excise case as a "massive political conspiracy" designed to dismantle the AAP.
Speaking to a scrum of reporters in Hindi, the 57-year-old leader didn't mince his words. "To destroy the AAP, they threw our five most senior leaders behind bars," he said. "For the first time in Indian history, a sitting Chief Minister was dragged from his house and locked up for six months. They kept Sisodia in jail for nearly two years on a case that was entirely made up."
The AAP leader, who has largely maintained a stoic and defiant exterior throughout the legal saga, finally appeared to buckle under the weight of the last two years. "We were hounded. Day after day, TV channels ran debates calling me corrupt," he said, before his voice faltered.
As the cameras rolled, Kejriwal’s head dropped, and he broke down in tears, shielding his face with his hands. Sisodia, standing just a few feet away, immediately stepped in to comfort him, and the two long-term allies shared a poignant, silent hug amidst the chaos of the press pack.
Moving on to Sisodia, the court held that the CBI’s narrative was one that could not survive even the most elementary kind of judicial scrutiny. After examining the case files and testimony, the judge held that the papers represented merely the usual kind of "administrative deliberations" and not any kind of criminal activity or wrongdoing. The court also noted that the making of the excise policy was one that involved discussions at various levels of the institutions, thus making it impossible for any kind of "overarching conspiracy" to have been at work.
The judgement pointed out the "internal contradictions" in the prosecution’s case, finally holding that the CBI’s narrative simply did not have the required teeth to go to trial. For Kejriwal and Sisodia, this judgement brings an end to a long and bitter legal fight that has dominated the Delhi politics scene for the better part of two years.
Both the leaders were welcomed with hugs, smiles and tears at his New Delhi residence as he met his wife Sunita Kejriwal and his children after a court refused to frame charges against 23 accused individuals. Alongside Kejriwal and Sisodia, the court also discharged Telangana Jagruthi president K Kavitha and several others.
Sunita hailed the court’s decision, stating that "truth always prevails." Her comments followed a significant legal victory for the AAP.
Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Sunita Kejriwal shared a poignant message reflecting on the spiritual and moral victory she felt the verdict represented. "In this world, no matter how powerful one becomes, one cannot rise above Shiva Shakti. Truth always prevails," she wrote.
Later, while speaking to reporters outside the family residence, she was more direct in her criticism of the political machinery behind the case. She accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP of orchestrating a "political conspiracy" to cripple the AAP leadership, but noted that her faith in the judiciary remained firm. "I would like to thank God today. Arvind ji has spent his life with honesty, yet they sent him and his associates to jail. I always had faith that the truth would eventually come out," she said.
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