A Delhi court’s recent decision to discharge all accused in the alleged Excise Policy Scam, including the former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and the deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, is threatening to snowball into a major controversy in the coming days. Unless the CBI’s decision to challenge the lower court order gets a nod from the Delhi High Court, the allegations about the Narendra Modi government at the Centre using central agencies for political reasons will gain further ground.

Court finds lack of admissible evidence

The court was not impressed with the voluminous chargesheet and ruled that these were mere allegations, not backed by admissible evidence and witnesses to merit a regular trial. The gist of the charges was that the Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party government in Delhi favoured some private companies while tweaking the existing excise rules in the capital city, privatising liquor retail in exchange for money that was allegedly used in AAP contesting the Goa Assembly elections in 2022.

What baffled all and sundry was that the end consumers were happy, as big discounts were being offered by private retailers to boost sales. Moreover, it gave them relief from the unwelcoming government employees manning the retail outlets, who were always more interested in selling unknown brands. Now that the court has ruled that the much-talked-about........

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