Kejriwal after court acquits him in Delhi excise policy case: 'I earned only honesty, not money'
A Delhi court earlier in the day discharged former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, his deputy Manish Sisodia and 21 others in the politically charged liquor policy case.
Former Delhi Chief Minister and AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal addressed the media after the court acquitted him in Delhi excise policy case and said he has earned only honesty and not money in these years. “I have earned only honesty, not money in these years,” he said. “Today, the court in its 600-page order has said that there is not the slightest evidence to even have a case in this matter," he said.
PM Modi, Amit Shah hatched conspiracy: Kejriwal
Arvind Kejriwal further added that two people, PM Modi and Amit Shah, hatched this conspiracy to finish Aam Aadmi Party. “Today, they should apologise to the country....I have only earned honesty, not money,” he said.
Kejriwal challenges Modi ji to hold elections in Delhi again
Arvind Kejriwal said," I challenge Modi ji to hold elections in Delhi again. I can say with confidence that if they get more than 10 seats, I will leave politics."
Did Rahul Gandhi go to jail? Asks Kejriwal
Over Congress' reaction on his acquittal, AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal says," I want to ask the Congress - Kejriwal went to jail. Did Robert Vadra go to jail? Sanjay Singh went to jail. Did Rahul Gandhi go to jail? Sanjay Singh went to jail. Did Sonia Gandhi ji went to jail? What is Congress saying? Does it have no shame?" he asked.
Earlier in the day, he held a roadshow after court acquitted him in excise policy case. In a significant development, a Delhi court earlier in the day discharged former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, his deputy Manish Sisodia and 21 others in the politically charged liquor policy case, pulling up the CBI by saying its case was wholly unable to survive judicial scrutiny and stood discredited in its entirety. Among the 21 people given a clean chit in the case is Telangana Jagruthi president K Kavitha.
"This court has no hesitation in holding that the material placed on record does not disclose even a prima facie case, much less any grave suspicion, against any of the accused persons. Accordingly, Accused Nos 1-23 are discharged of all the offences alleged against them in the present case," special judge Jitendra Singh said.
CBI has been probing alleged corruption case
The CBI has been probing alleged corruption in the formulation and execution of the erstwhile AAP government's now scrapped excise policy. The probe agency said it would immediately appeal in the Delhi High Court against the trial court's judgement.
Several aspects of the probe have been either ignored or not considered adequately, a CBI spokesperson said. In his order, Singh said the investigation appears to have proceeded on a predetermined trajectory, implicating virtually every person associated with the formulation or implementation of the policy to lend an illusion of depth and credibility to an otherwise fragile narrative
"A cumulative appraisal of the record further reveals an investigative approach marked by an attempt to stitch together disparate fragments so as to create an impression of a vast and complex conspiracy, unsupported by legally admissible material," he said.
Here's what Delhi court said on Delhi excise policy case
The judge said that the endeavour to further connect such allegations to the Goa Assembly elections, to project, layering, and utilisation of alleged proceeds of crime, rests more on inference and assumption than on legally sustainable material. The court said that the alleged conspiracy was nothing more than a speculative construct resting on conjecture and surmise, devoid of any admissible evidence.
"The excise policy case, as sought to be projected by the CBI, is wholly unable to survive judicial scrutiny and stands discredited in its entirety," it said. The court said that to compel the accused to face the rigours of a full-fledged criminal trial in the stark absence of any legally admissible material serves no ends of justice.
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Kejriwal cleared in Delhi excise policy case: What did the court say while pulling up the CBI?