The central agency has filed a criminal revision petition assailing the trial court’s detailed order, which declined to frame charges in the corruption matter and held that the prosecution had failed to make out even a prima facie case for trial
AAP National Convener Arvind Kejriwal and former Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia address the media at Rouse Avenue Court, in New Delhi, on Friday. PIC/PTI
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has approached the Delhi High Court (HC) challenging the order of the Rouse Avenue Court discharging all the 23 accused, including Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal and former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, in the 2022 Delhi Excise policy case, news agency IANS reported.
The central agency has filed a criminal revision petition assailing the trial court’s detailed order, which declined to frame charges in the corruption matter and held that the prosecution had failed to make out even a prima facie case for trial.
Earlier in the day, Special Judge (PC Act) Jitendra Singh of the Rouse Avenue Court, in a judgment spanning over 1,100 paragraphs, ruled that the case presented by the CBI was “wholly unable to survive judicial scrutiny” and stood “discredited in its entirety”, IANS reported.
The court observed that after a comprehensive review of the voluminous records and depositions of nearly 300 prosecution witnesses, no material surfaced to raise even a “grave suspicion” against the accused.
It further noted that compelling the accused to undergo a full-fledged trial in the absence of legally admissible evidence would amount to a “manifest miscarriage of justice” and an abuse of the criminal process, IANS reported.
The matter relates to the Delhi Excise Policy 2021–22 introduced by the then AAP-led government in the national capital, which was later withdrawn following allegations of corruption, kickbacks and policy manipulation.
Delhi Excise Policy Case: Trial court rejects ‘overarching conspiracy’ theory
The CBI had alleged that the policy was designed to favour certain private liquor companies, including the so-called “South Group”, in return for alleged upfront bribes that were purportedly diverted for electoral purposes.
According to the agency, irregularities in the formulation and execution of the policy resulted in undue benefits to licensees and losses to the public exchequer.
However, the trial court rejected the “theory of an overarching conspiracy”, stating that contemporaneous records indicated the policy was formulated through a consultative and deliberative process after stakeholder consultations and in accordance with prescribed legal procedures.
Soon after the discharge order, Kejriwal termed the case “false and fabricated” and reaffirmed his faith in the judiciary, saying “Satyamev Jayate”.
Sisodia was seen consoling him as party supporters assembled outside the court complex.
The CBI, meanwhile, has maintained that several facets of the probe were either overlooked or not adequately appreciated by the trial court and has now sought reconsideration of the findings before the Delhi HC.
(With IANS inputs)
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