Former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia have been cleared of all charges in the Delhi excise policy case, with the court ruling that the CBI failed to prove the charges against them.
Former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia have been cleared of all charges in the Delhi excise policy case, with the court ruling that the CBI failed to prove the charges against them.
The Rouse Avenue Court on Friday pronounced its order on the framing of charges in the Delhi Excise Policy corruption case on February 27. Special Judge Jitendra Singh pronounced the order in the case being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The court refused to take cognisance of the CBI chargesheet in the excise policy-linked corruption case. The court observed that the alleged central conspiratorial role could not be substantiated. The court noted that the allegations “failed judicial scrutiny” and found “no criminal intent” on the part of Manish Sisodia. It further stated that the conspiracy theory “cannot survive against one constitutional authority.”
What was the Excise policy case against Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia?
Former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, along with 21 others, were chargesheeted in an alleged Rs 100 crore paid by a “south lobby” to influence the now-scrapped excise policy in its favour. They were charged in an excise policy case involving allegations of corruption and money laundering in the formulation and implementation of the now-scrapped 2021–22 liquor policy. The CBI alleged that the policy was designed to favour certain liquor manufacturers and distributors in exchange for kickbacks of approximately Rs 100 crore. The policy changes included increasing the wholesale profit margin from 5% to 12% and allowing private players to run retail vends.
Sisodia was arrested by the CBI on February 26, 2023, and by the ED on March 9, 2023, while Kejriwal was arrested on March 21, 2024, on money-laundering charges. This arrest followed months of skipping multiple summonses from the agency. He was formally arrested by the CBI on June 26, 2024, while already in judicial custody in Tihar Jail for the ED case. In total, 23 accused have been chargesheeted, including Arvind Kejriwal, 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.
Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia’s reaction after the clean chit
Speaking to the media, “I’ve only earned honesty through my sweat and toil.” He appealed to PM Narendra Modi, “Don’t topple governments for power, stay in office by serving the people.” “The court’s verdict proves my innocence. Truth will prevail,” Kejriwal said, visibly emotional, adding, “Don’t mock the Constitution.” Expressing her joy at the verdict, Arvind’s wife Sunita Kejriwal posted, “In this world, no matter how powerful one becomes, one cannot rise above Shiva Shakti. Truth always prevails.”
Taking to X, Manish Sisodia wrote in Hindi that translates, “Truth alone triumphs. Today, I’m proud of Babasaheb Ambedkar’s vision and the Constitution he crafted. Despite Modi’s party and agencies trying to paint us as dishonest, it’s clear Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia are honest to the core.”
February 27, 2026
