- Delhi court discharges all 23 accused, including Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia
- Court sharply criticises CBI for investigative lapses and weak evidence
- Verdict raises broader questions about due process in politically sensitive probes
The Delhi liquor policy case verdict delivered on Friday marks a major legal and political turning point. A Delhi court discharged former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and senior AAP leader Manish Sisodia, ruling that the Central Bureau of Investigation failed to establish even a basic case against them.
Court Raps CBI in Delhi Liquor Policy Case Verdict
Special Judge Jitendra Singh of Rouse Avenue Courts did not mince words. The court said the CBI’s chargesheet running into thousands of pages contained “misleading averments,” internal contradictions, and material unsupported by witness testimony.
The data suggests the agency relied on inference-heavy narratives rather than direct evidence. What the market is missing is how damaging such investigative shortcuts can be when courts begin scrutinising not just allegations, but methodology.
The court also ordered a departmental inquiry against the investigating officer, an unusually stern step that signals institutional accountability.
Why the Delhi Liquor Policy Case Collapsed in Court
According to the ruling, the prosecution failed on three core legal tests: evidence, linkage, and intent.
For Sisodia, the court found no recovery, no corroboration, and no proof that he influenced the formulation or implementation of the 2021 excise policy. For Kejriwal, the judge held that implicating a constitutional authority without “cogent material” violates the rule of law.
All 23 Accused Discharged, Court Flags ‘Root-Level Flaws’
The court discharged all 23 accused, including businesspersons and intermediaries named as part of the alleged conspiracy. They are Kuldeep Singh, Narender Singh, Vijay Nair, Abhishek Boinpally, Arun Pillai, Mootha Gautam, Sameer Mahendru, Manish Sisodia, Amandeep Singh Dhall, Arjun Pandey, Butchibabu Gorantla, Rajesh Joshi, Damodar Prasad Sharma, Prince Kumar, Arvind Kumar Singh, Chanpreet Singh, K Kavitha, Arvind Kejriwal, Durgesh Pathak, Amit Arora, Vinod Chauhan, Ashish Chand Mathur and Sarath Reddy. The judge questioned why certain individuals were even made accused when no material existed against them.
The ruling explicitly stated that contradictions within the chargesheet undermined the very foundation of the conspiracy theory. This is critical, because conspiracy cases rely on consistency more than volume.
Political and Legal Fallout After Delhi Liquor Policy Case Verdict
Sisodia spent nearly 530 days in jail. Kejriwal was incarcerated for about 156 days across multiple cases before securing bail. The verdict now reframes those detentions under a harsher public lens.
While agencies like the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate had argued the policy was designed to benefit private entities, the court found no legally sustainable proof.
The second-order impact may extend beyond this case future probes into policy decisions could face closer judicial review, especially where criminal intent is inferred rather than demonstrated.
The Delhi liquor policy case verdict is a sharp reminder that courts value evidence over narrative. For investigative agencies, the message is clear: exhaustive paperwork cannot substitute for substantiated proof. For Indian politics, the implications may shape how accountability, arrest, and prosecution intersect going forward.
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