New Delhi [India], February 27: After being discharged by court in excise policy case, former Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia on Friday called it an important day in the history of Indian politics and also accused PM Narendra Modi of hatching conspiracy.
He stated that the Supreme Court had already said that the case wouldn't stand trial, which was reiterated by the court as well. Sisodia added that the court has also set up an inquiry against the CBI officer.
"This is a really important day for the politics of the country. Narendra Modi ji was hatching a conspiracy with the strength of ED and CBI just to be in power; that conspiracy has been foiled...The country is questioning him today...SC had already said that the case won't stand the trial. Today, the judge said the same...An inquiry has been set up on the CBI officer. BJP should admit that they were lying," said Sisodia.
Meanwhile, Delhi LoP Atishi called Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia as "kattar imaandar", asserting that it has been proven how agencies of the central govt conspired and levelled allegations at AAP.
"Aam Aadmi Party ek kattar imaandaar party hai, Arvind Kejriwal aur Manish Sisodia kattar imaandaar neta hain...It is proved today how agencies of the central govt conspired and levelled allegations at AAP. The truth about PM Modi and the BJP has come out before the country today," said Atishi.
AAP MP Sanjay Singh said that the court's decision has proven that all cases were a conspiracy and fake that were filed to defame Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and Aam Aadmi Party.
"It has been proven today that as per a conspiracy, fake cases were filed to defame Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and Aam Aadmi Party...Today, the truth has emerged victorious," said Sanjay Singh.
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."
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.
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.
On the other hand, senior advocate N Hariharan, 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.
