New Delhi: The BJP Friday reacted sharply to a special CBI court’s order discharging former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and his then-deputy Manish Sisodia in the Delhi excise policy case, terming it a “miscarriage of justice” and indicating that the legal battle was far from over.
“On 27 February 2026, a Delhi court discharged former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and former Deputy CM Manish Sisodia in the Delhi liquor excise case. This order, in light of the record so far, raises serious concerns and is miscarriage of justice,” Amit Malviya, in-charge of BJP’s national information and technology department, wrote on X.
Incidentally, the term “miscarriage of justice” was also used by special CBI judge Jitendra Singh two times in his 598-page order discharging the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders in the case.
The judge, who pointed to several lapses in the case, said that forcing the accused to face trial in the “stark absence of any legally admissible material” would constitute “miscarriage of justice”.
In another instance, the judge noted that the prosecution had failed to “distinguish between legitimate political activity and criminal conduct”.
“Continuation of proceedings founded on such tenuous premises would amount to an abuse of process and result in a miscarriage of justice,” the order read.
Singh held that the CBI’s chargesheet had failed to make a prima facie case against Sisodia — the first senior AAP leader to be arrested in the case, in February 2023. On Kejriwal, the judge found that the former CM had been implicated without cogent material.
Malviya questioned how a lower court could discharge the accused given what he described as “damning judicial observations” at multiple levels, including at the stage of bail and audit findings indicating massive revenue implications.
“The judgment in the Delhi excise case has come from a lower court. In the past, even the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court of India have made strong and damning observations in related proceedings. Whether this judgment withstands scrutiny in higher courts remains to be seen. The legal process is far from over,” the BJP leader wrote on X.
Challenging Kejriwal’s claims of personal integrity, Malviya asked why the AAP-led Delhi government had rolled back and altered the excise policy.
“Why were multiple phones and SIM cards destroyed? Why was the number of vendors reduced so sharply while commissions were increased from 6% to 12%? These decisions raise serious and legitimate questions. The kickbacks are not a figment of imagination, they are issues placed before the courts and the public,” he added.
Malviya said the CBI had indicated it would appeal, and the matter would return to higher judicial forums.
“The legal battle is far from over but for many citizens, this order raises troubling questions about accountability and justice in high public office,” he said.
BJP leader Sudhanshu Trivedi, addressing a press conference, said the AAP leaders were discharged due to lack of evidence, which was a “technical issue”.
“CBI will take the next step in this case. The party will give a structured response after studying the judgment in detail. One must think—if the charges were baseless, then how were the charges framed,” he said.
Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva echoed the charge of evidence destruction. “Regarding the lower court’s verdict today, they have directly indicated a lack of evidence. The investigating agency has consistently maintained that Arvind Kejriwal and his associates destroyed evidence. The SIM cards that were destroyed, the phones that were destroyed—their whereabouts were never found…” he said.
BJP MP Manoj Tiwari said the people of Delhi have already punished Kejriwal. “The corruption allegations against him are based on solid evidence. We are surprised, but without commenting on the court’s decision, we will move to a higher court. On the basis of the concrete evidence we have, those who looted Delhi will definitely be punished,” he said.
The excise case had been central to BJP’s campaign ahead of the last Delhi assembly election, ahead of which the party sought to blunt AAP’s anti-corruption plank by running posters under the tagline ‘Ab nahin sahenge, badal ke rahenge (Now, we won’t tolerate it, we will bring change)’.
It also released a poster featuring AAP national convener and former Delhi CM Kejriwal with the caption: “Kejriwal’s web of scams, which includes liquor, mohalla clinic, hawala, security, ration, panic button, sheeshmahal, medicine, Delhi Jal Board, classroom and CCTV scams.”
(Edited by Prerna Madan)