I earned only honesty in my life: Kejriwal after relief in liquor case

Kejriwal further said that PM Modi and Shah should apologise to the country, claiming that the court had dubbed the case against him "totally fake" and unfit for trial

Former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday challenged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah to hold fresh elections in the national capital after a court discharged him in an excise policy case that alleged corruption in the award of liquor licences.

 

Earlier in the day, a Delhi court cleared all 23 accused in the Delhi excise policy case, including Kejriwal, former deputy CM Manish Sisodia and Telangana Jagruthi president K Kavitha.

 

Addressing a press conference soon after the order, Kejriwal termed the ruling a “historic verdict” and thanked those who had stood by him.

 

“I thank everyone who supported us,” he said, adding that he had “earned only honesty and reputation” in public life and that efforts had been made to damage it.

 

Kejriwal said: “If the BJP wins more than 10 seats, I will quit politics”. He further demanded that Modi and Shah apologise to the country, claiming the court had dubbed the case filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) “totally fake” and unfit for trial.

 

Kejriwal also alleged that Modi and Shah had “hatched a conspiracy” against him and his party. “We are ‘kattar imandaar’,” he said.

 

Special Judge (PC Act) Jitendra Singh passed the order, effectively bringing to a close the case, as reported by Bar and Bench. Meanwhile, the CBI has filed an appeal in the Delhi High Court challenging the lower court's order discharging Arvind Kejriwal and others in the liquor policy case, news agency PTI reported, citing officials.

 

In its ruling, the court said there was no material to show any criminal conspiracy behind the excise policy. “There was no overarching conspiracy or criminal intent in the excise policy,” the court said.

 

The judge added that the prosecution’s case could not withstand legal scrutiny and that the CBI had built its theory largely on assumptions. No prima facie case was made out against any of the 23 accused, the report said.

 

"We will file an application in court next week for discharge in the ED's case related to the excise policy," Kejriwal said.

 

Slamming the Rekha Gupta-led government in Delhi, Kejriwal said: "BJP has thrown Delhi into chaos with problems like pollution, polluted Yamuna, and damaged roads."

 

The verdict comes just over a year after the Aam Aadmi Party was voted out of power in the Delhi Assembly elections, marking the end to its consecutive five-year terms in office. During the campaign, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress had centred their attacks on alleged corruption under the Kejriwal government, particularly the excise policy case and the expensive, multi-crore renovation of the chief minister's luxurious taxpayer-funded residence, mockingly dubbed 'Sheesh Mahal' by the Opposition.

 

Soon after the verdict, Delhi Congress chief Devender Yadav questioned the timing of the acquittal as he suggested that such developments often coincide with upcoming state elections, including the approaching Gujarat Assembly polls.

 

Several Opposition leaders, however, welcomed the ruling. The Trinamool Congress and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said the verdict indicated that central probe agencies had been misused. The BJP maintained that Delhi’s voters had already delivered their verdict in the Assembly polls and called the acquittal a “technical matter”.