Delhi High Court grants final chance to Kejriwal, Sisodia, Pathak to respond in excise policy case
The Delhi High Court on Thursday granted a final opportunity to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, and Durgesh Pathak to respond within two weeks to the Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) plea challenging a trial court order that discharged them in the liquor policy case.
Justice Manoj Jain deferred the hearing on the CBI’s revision petition after none of the lawyers representing the accused appeared, citing a boycott by High Court lawyers protesting a proposed increase in the pecuniary jurisdiction of Delhi’s district courts. The court scheduled the next hearing for August 17, when arguments on behalf of the investigating agency will be heard.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the CBI, informed the court that the three AAP leaders had previously been given several opportunities to file their replies, and that the case had been “sufficiently delayed.” In response, Justice Jain stated that a time frame would be fixed for hearing submissions from the discharged accused. “Although opportunity was granted to them earlier on several occasions, in view of interest of justice, one last and final opportunity is granted to them to file replies within two weeks from today,” the court ordered.
The excise policy case, also known as the Delhi liquor policy scam, involves allegations of corruption in the formulation and implementation of the city’s now-scrapped excise policy. The trial court had discharged Kejriwal, Sisodia, and Pathak in December 2023, leading to the CBI’s appeal in the High Court.
The hearing before Justice Jain came after the case was transferred from Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma’s bench, who had initiated contempt proceedings against the AAP leaders for alleged “vilifying” social media posts against her. The court’s latest order provides a final window for the accused to submit their responses before the court proceeds with the CBI’s plea.
