New Delhi, February 27 In a major relief to Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia, a court here on Friday acquitted the former Delhi chief minister and his former deputy in the politically charged liquor policy case, as it refused to take cognizance of the CBI chargesheet.
Besides the two leaders, 21 others were also acquitted in the case.
The CBI has been investigating alleged corruption in the formulation and execution of the erstwhile AAP government's now-scrapped excise policy.
Special Judge Jitendra Singh criticized the federal agency for lapses in the investigation, saying there was no credible evidence against Kejriwal, while there was no prima facie case against Sisodia.
He highlighted "some misleading allegations" and said that the voluminous chargesheet had several gaps that were not corroborated by evidence or witnesses.
"…The chargesheet suffers from internal contradictions, which undermines the entire conspiracy theory," Judge Singh said.
He said that in the absence of any evidence, the allegations against Kejriwal could not be sustained, and that the former chief minister was implicated without any credible evidence.
This, the judge said, was inconsistent with the rule of law.
Regarding Sisodia, the judge said that there was no material on record showing his involvement, nor was any recovery made from him.
A detailed order is awaited.