Kejriwal, as CM and Sisodia, as Deputy Chief Minister, were Arrested in Connection with Excise Duty Case and Later Released on Bail

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A Delhi court has discharged Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, and other accused in the liquor policy case, rejecting the CBI’s chargesheet. The ruling marks a significant development in the high-profile investigation that has drawn national political attention. 

Court Finds Insufficient Grounds to Proceed on CBI Chargesheet

The Delhi court on Friday (February 27, 2026) discharged former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and his then-deputy Manish Sisodia in an excise police-related corruption case. The court has refused to take cognisance of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) chargesheet.

Special Judge (PC Act) Jitendra Singh said the chargesheet had several drawbacks, unsupported by evidence, and he discharged 21 more, besides the two Aam Aadmi Party leaders, in the matter. The court observed that the alleged central conspiratorial role could not be substantiated.

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CBI’s Claims Wrongdoings

During arguments, the CBI representatives, Additional Solicitor General D P Singh and advocate Manu Mishra, argued that there is adequate material to frame charges against all the accused.

On the other hand, senior advocate N Hariharan, who appeared for Kejriwal, contended that there is no incriminating material linking his client to the alleged conspiracy. He argued that the fourth supplementary chargesheet naming Kejriwal merely repackages earlier allegations and that Kejriwal was performing his official duties as Chief Minister.

Response from Kejriwal 

“Today, the court has discharged all the accused in this case. We always said that the truth emerges victorious. We have full faith in the Indian legal system. Amit Shah and Modi ji together hatched the biggest political conspiracy to finish AAP, and 5 big leaders of the party were put in jail. The sitting CM was dragged out of his house and put in jail. Kejriwal is not corrupt. I have only earned honesty in my life. Today, the court has said that Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and AAP are honest,” Kejriwal said after the court order.

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Arvind Kejriwal Liquor Policy Case

The Arvind Kejriwal government had implemented the excise policy on 17 November 2021 and scrapped it in September 2022 amid allegations of graft. The CBI filed its first chargesheet in 2022, followed by multiple supplementary chargesheets. The agency has alleged that Rs. 100 crore was paid by a "south lobby" to influence the policy in its favour.

A total of 23 people were named in the chargesheet. It includes 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.

The CBI is likely to challenge the order in the High Court.