TN CM MK Stalin slammed the Centre after Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia were discharged in the excise policy case. He told the BJP to "have some shame" and accused it of using agencies like CBI and ED for "political hunting" of opposition leaders.
Stalin Slams Centre's 'Political Hunting'
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Friday suggested the Centre to "have some shame" after the court discharged AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal and other accused from the Delhi excise policy case. Stalin accused the Centre of "mortgaging the integrity" of investigating agencies like the CBI and ED to carry out "political hunting" against opposition leaders.
In an 'X' post, Stalin said that the Union government "must not mortgage the integrity of investigating agencies for short-term politics." He also congratulated Arvind Kejriwal and former Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia towards standing firm on their stance and letting the truth speak for itself. "The Union BJP government must not mortgage the integrity of investigating agencies for short-term politics. Have some shame. Well done, my respected friend Thiru. Arvind Kejriwal, and Thiru. Manish Sisodia, for standing firm through it all and letting the truth speak for itself," the 'X' post said.
Court Finds Allegations Unsubstantiated
The Rouse Avenue Court on Friday discharged Former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia in the Delhi Excise Policy case. The court observed that the alleged central conspiratorial role could not be substantiated. The court noted that the allegations "failed judicial scrutiny" and found "no criminal intent" on the part of Manish Sisodia. It further stated that the conspiracy theory "cannot survive against one constitutional authority."
Expressing her joy at the verdict, Sunita Kejriwal, the wife of Arvind, posted, "In this world, no matter how powerful one becomes, one cannot rise above Shiva Shakti. Truth always prevails."
CBI's Allegations
The CBI filed its first chargesheet in 2022, followed by multiple supplementary chargesheets. The agency has alleged that Rs 100 crore was paid by a "south lobby" to influence the now-scrapped excise policy in its favour. In total, 23 accused have been chargesheeted, including Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, K Kavitha, Kuldeep Singh, Narender Singh, Vijay Nair, Abhishek Boinpally, Arun Ramchandra Pillai, Mootha Goutam, Sameer Mahendru, Amandeep Singh Dhall, Arjun Pandey, Butchibabu Gornatla, Rakesh Joshi, Damodar Prasad Sharma, Prince Kumar, Chanpreet Singh Rayat, Arvind Kumar Singh, Durgesh Pathak, Amit Arora, Vinod Chauhan, Ashish Mathur, and P Sarath Chadra Reddy.
Arguments in Court
Prosecution's Stance
During arguments, the CBI maintained that the offence of criminal conspiracy must be viewed in its entirety and that the sufficiency of evidence should be tested during trial. Represented by Additional Solicitor General D P Singh and advocate Manu Mishra, the agency argued that there is adequate material to frame charges against all the accused.
Defence's Contention
On the other hand, senior advocate N Hariharan, who appeared for Kejriwal, contended that there is no incriminating material linking his client to the alleged conspiracy. He argued that the fourth supplementary chargesheet naming Kejriwal merely repackages earlier allegations and that Kejriwal was performing his official duties as Chief Minister.
Hariharan further submitted that Kejriwal was not named in the initial chargesheet or in three earlier supplementary chargesheets. His name appeared only in the fourth. The defence also questioned the basis of further investigation and the evidentiary value of statements, including that of approver Raghav Magunta.
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