The Delhi High Court offered the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) a small measure of relief on Monday, pausing a series of stinging remarks made by a lower court during the high-profile acquittal of Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia. While the court did not go so far as to stay the actual discharge of the former Delhi Chief Minister and his colleagues, it did agree to shelf the "prejudicial" comments that had cast a shadow over the agency's investigative competence.
The move comes after the Solicitor General, Tushar Mehta, moved the court to challenge the February 27 ruling by the Rouse Avenue Court. In that original judgment, the trial court had famously savaged the CBI’s theory of the case, describing it as "demonstrably erroneous, economically illiterate, and legally unsustainable." Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma has now struck those specific remarks down, though she has kept the acquittal order itself intact for the time being.
During the hearing, the Solicitor General argued forcefully that the trial court had "turned criminal law on its head" by effectively acquitting the accused without a full trial. He insisted that the agency possesses "substantial evidence" of a conspiracy involving manipulated liquor policies and bribery, bolstered by statements from witnesses and approvers. He urged the High Court to expedite the appeal, describing the scandal as one of the most significant corruption cases in recent years.
As it stands, the High Court has sought formal responses from Kejriwal, Sisodia, and 21 other individuals — including BRS leader K Kavitha — who were cleared in February. The matter is now listed for a further hearing on 16 March. In the meantime, the court hinted that it might direct the trial court to defer proceedings in the parallel money laundering case currently being pursued by the Enforcement Directorate.
For the Aam Aadmi Party leadership, the original discharge was a moment of vindication that saw the CBI’s case collapse under judicial scrutiny. Moreover, with the High Court entertaining the agency’s appeal, the legal battle over the recently-scrapped excise policy is not yet over.
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