What’s next for Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia? CBI to file appeal against acquittal in Delhi excise policy case

NEW DELHI: CBI will file an appeal against the court order acquitting former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, amongst others, in the 2022 Delhi excise policy case.

Sources confirmed that the agency was in the process of studying the order and was likely to approach the higher appellate court at the earliest.




On Friday, Special Judge Jitendra Singh pronounced the order in the case investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

The court observed that the alleged central conspiratorial role could not be substantiated. The bench also noted that the allegations "failed judicial scrutiny" and found "no criminal intent".

CBI filed multiple chargesheets in the case. The agency filed an FIR on August 17, 2022, against the then Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, excise officials and liquor businessmen on a complaint from the Union Ministry of Home Affairs.

The charges included irregularities, including modifications in the excise policy, extending undue favours to the licensees, waiver or reduction in licence fee, and extension of the L-1 licence without approval.

Arvind Kejriwal broke down emotionally after being discharged in the Delhi excise policy case by the Rouse Avenue Court on Friday.

Addressing supporters after the court’s order, Kejriwal said, “I am not corrupt. The court has said that Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia are honest,” asserting that the verdict had vindicated both him and senior party leader Manish Sisodia.In a post on ‘X’, Kejriwal’s wife, Sunita Kejriwal said, "In this world, no matter how powerful one becomes, one cannot rise above Shiva Shakti. Truth always prevails."

In total, a Delhi court discharged Arvind Kejriwal and 22 others, including 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.