Delhi HC to hear CBI plea against Kejriwal discharge

The CBI's refusal to accept a sweeping discharge order is dragging the Delhi excise policy case straight back into the courts next week.

CBI's challenge at the Delhi High Court

• The CBI filed a criminal revision petition against the Rouse Avenue Court's discharge order.
• Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, and 21 others were all let off by the trial court.
• Justice Swarnakanta Sharma's single-judge bench is scheduled to hear it on March 9.
• The agency is essentially arguing that the trial court got it completely wrong.

What the trial court actually decided

• Special Judge Jitendra Singh's order ran over 1,100 paragraphs and torched the CBI's case.
• Nearly 300 prosecution witnesses and voluminous records still produced zero actionable material.
• Forcing the accused to stand trial without admissible evidence was called a manifest miscarriage of justice.
• The court rejected the CBI's overarching-conspiracy theory and said the excise policy followed proper procedure.

The original allegations and what the CBI claimed

• Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22 was allegedly tailored to benefit private liquor entities like the South Group.
• Upfront bribes allegedly routed for electoral purposes were at the heart of the CBI's case.
• The policy was eventually scrapped amid corruption allegations by the then AAP-led government.

BJP's reaction and political pressure

• Manoj Tiwari warned that AAP's post-discharge celebrations could be cut short by the High Court.
• Destroyed SIM cards and mobile phones were flagged by Tiwari as deeply suspicious.
• BJP has committed to pursuing accountability at both political and legal levels until the end.