Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], February 28 : Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge on Saturday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party BJP of weaponising federal agencies for political gain.
The remarks came following the court's discharge of AAP leaders Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and 21 others in the Delhi Excise policy case yesterday.
Speaking to the media, Kharge alleged, "In the last 12 years, CBI, IT and ED have been used like puppets for the political benefit of BJP... The Supreme Court had reprimanded in this matter, where is the charge sheet in the case of Arvind Kejriwal and Sisodia? The institutions are being used only for political benefit and for nothing else."
The discharge of Arvind Kejriwal and the other accused in the excise policy case has triggered widespread legal and political debate across the country.
Holding that the prosecution had failed to disclose "even the threshold of a prima facie suspicion, far less the grave suspicion" required for framing of charges, a Special Court in Delhi discharged all 23 accused in the CBI case relating to the Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22.
In a strongly worded order, Special Judge (PC Act) Jitender Singh of the Rouse Avenue Court ruled that the prosecution's case was "legally infirm, unsustainable, and unfit to proceed any further in law".The Court observed that when the material collected by the agency was tested on the touchstone of admissibility, relevance and probative value, "the appearance of a coherent conspiracy dissolves," exposing the allegations as being founded on inadmissible material and post-facto reconstruction.
The court was critical of the investigative approach adopted by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), observing that the agency's theory was based on conjectures rather than admissible evidence. It also cautioned against the use of approver statements to fill gaps in the prosecution's case and recommended a departmental inquiry against certain CBI officials.
Meanwhile, the CBI has approached the Delhi High Court challenging the discharge order and is seeking to have it set aside, keeping the legal battle alive.
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