Excise Policy Case: Delhi High Court Issues Notice To Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia And 21 Others

New Delhi: An important turning point came to light in the Delhi Liquor Policy case on Monday when the Delhi High Court, while hearing the petition of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), issued notice to former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and 21 other accused. The High Court has also put a stay on some of the comments made against the CBI by the lower court.

The court also indicated that it may direct the trial court to adjourn the proceedings in the case involving the Enforcement Directorate (ED) till March 16. Also, the High Court has asked Kejriwal, Sisodia and other accused to present their stand on the appeal of CBI.

What is CBI's appeal in the High Court?

The CBI has challenged in the Delhi High Court the order of the special court in which former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and other accused were acquitted of charges in the liquor policy case. The investigating agency says that the lower court did not look at many aspects of the case properly and the facts related to the investigation were not adequately considered. On this basis, CBI has approached the High Court demanding cancellation of the order.

Why did the lower court give relief to the accused?

Last week, a special court in Delhi had given big relief to Kejriwal, Sisodia and 21 other accused in this famous case and acquitted them of the charges. The court had said in its order that sufficient evidence of any large-scale conspiracy or criminal intent was not revealed in the case. Questioning the CBI investigation, the court had also said that the story presented by the agency appears to be based on conjecture and speculation, which does not stand the test of judicial scrutiny.

Which people got a clean chit?

Among the 21 other people who were given relief in this case, Telangana Jagrithi President K. Kavita is also included. Apart from this, Kuldeep Singh, Narendra Singh, Vijay Nair, Abhishek Boinpalli, Arun Ramchandra Pillai, Mutha Gautam, Sameer Mahendru, Amandeep Singh Dhal, Arjun Pandey, Buchibabu Gornatla, Rakesh Joshi, Damodar Prasad Sharma, Prince Kumar, Chanpreet Singh Rait, Arvind Kumar Singh, Durgesh Pathak, Amit Arora, Vinod Chauhan, Ashish Mathur and P. Sarath Chandra. Reddy's names are included.

What is the liquor policy controversy?

The CBI is investigating alleged corruption in the formulation and implementation of the now repealed excise policy of the Delhi government. It is alleged that some private companies and businessmen were given unfair benefits while making the policy. In this case, ED had also started a separate investigation under allegations of money laundering. During this investigation, Arvind Kejriwal remained in jail for about six months, while Manish Sisodia remained in judicial custody for almost two years.

What did Kejriwal say on the decision?

After getting relief from the special court, Arvind Kejriwal had termed this entire case the biggest political conspiracy in the history of the country. He had said that the court's decision has proved that he, Manish Sisodia and the Aam Aadmi Party are honest. At the same time, CBI had made it clear that it would immediately file an appeal in the Delhi High Court against the decision of the lower court, after which now the hearing of this case is going on in the high court.