New Delhi, 13 August (H.S.): Former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia have opposed the Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) plea challenging the trial court’s order acquitting them in the Delhi excise policy case. They have argued that the CBI’s plea is not maintainable. Justice Manoj Jain is scheduled to hear the matter on August 18.

Kejriwal and Sisodia have contended that the CBI filed its petition barely four hours after the trial court pronounced its verdict. Describing the filing as an unprecedentedly hurried move, they argued that it reflected a lack of due consideration and seriousness.

They further submitted that the CBI’s application does not identify any specific error in the trial court’s judgment. In the absence of any such error being pointed out, they questioned how the CBI’s plea could be considered maintainable.

On July 16, the Delhi High Court had granted Kejriwal, Sisodia and Durgesh Pathak a final opportunity to file their responses to the CBI’s plea. The matter was earlier listed before a Bench headed by Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma.

The Rouse Avenue Court had ordered the acquittal of all the accused on February 27. While passing the order, the court observed that the chargesheet contained substantial contradictions. It noted that several facts presented in the voluminous chargesheet did not correspond with the statements made by witnesses.

The trial court had also noted the period spent in custody by the accused. Sisodia had remained in jail for around 530 days, while Kejriwal had spent a total of 156 days in custody across two separate periods.

Kejriwal was released on September 13, 2024, after the Supreme Court granted him bail in the CBI case.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar