Excise policy case: Delhi high court grants time to Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, others to respond to CBI plea

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Monday granted time to former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, senior AAP leader Manish Sisodia and other respondents to file their replies in a petition filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) challenging their discharge in the Delhi excise policy case. Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma scheduled the hearing on the CBI’s plea against the trial court’s order for April 6. During the hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the CBI, argued that the trial court’s order was “perverse” and should not remain on record longer than necessary. He urged the court to grant the accused no more than a week to file their replies. Mehta also submitted that a reply from the respondents was not required as the complete trial court record was already available before the High Court.

Senior lawyers appearing for the AAP leaders told the court that they had already approached the Supreme Court of India in connection with the matter. Responding to this, the court observed, "I have not received any stay yet.. till the court gets an order staying the proceedings, the case has to proceed." The defence lawyers argued that there was no urgency in the matter and requested the court to grant reasonable time to file their replies.

On February 27, the trial court had discharged Kejriwal, Sisodia and 21 others in the case, criticising the CBI’s investigation. The court said the agency’s case could not stand judicial scrutiny and had lost credibility. The trial court further held that the alleged conspiracy was based only on assumptions and speculation without any admissible evidence. It added that forcing the accused to face a full criminal trial without legally valid material would not serve the ends of justice.