Last Updated on February 27, 2026 by Yash Saini
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has taken a big sigh of relief as the court cleared and released the former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and the rest of the accused, including former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, in the Delhi Excise Policy corruption case.
Notably, after three years of investigation, humiliation, and jail time, Kejriwal’s name is cleared.
Arvind Kejriwal Cleared of Charges in Delhi Liquor Policy Case
Today, Friday, February 27, 2026, Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court discharged Arvind Kejriwal and former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, as the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) failed to substantiate its allegations. The special Judge Jitendra Singh also delivered a sharp rebuke to the CBI, ruling against their allegation due to a lack of credible evidence.
Singh refused to take cognizance of the CBI’s chargesheet and heavily criticised the federal agency’s investigation. The judge ruled that the prosecution failed to provide cogent evidence (or a prima facie case) and also noted that their claims were just “mere conjecture” and “broad, unsubstantiated claims.
In the end, the court found no evidence of criminal intent or conspiracy in the Delhi Liquor Policy and discharged all 23 accused in the case, including Kejriwal.
Also, they have asked to launch a departmental inquiry into the CBI IO (investigation officer).
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Who Else Was Cleared?
A total of 23 accused in the Delhi Liquor Policy case have been discharged today. It includes: –
- Arvind Kejriwal
- Manish Sisodia
- K. Kavitha (BRS leader and daughter of former Telangana CM K. Chandrashekar Rao)
- Durgesh Pathak (AAP Leader)
- Vijay Nair (Former AAP communications in-charge)
- Various businessmen and alleged South Group members (who have been accused in the case of paying a ₹100 crore kickback).
‘Court Said I’m Kattar Imaandaar,’ Said Arvind Kejriwal
While interacting with the reporters post the Court’s verdict, Kejriwal was seen emotional, barely able to hold his tears back. He’s seen saying “truth always prevails” and that they have always been telling the truth, and finally, the court delivered justice to them.
“We always used to say that truth prevails. I am very thankful to the judge who delivered justice to us. Truth has won.”
He also continuously blamed the BJP, calling it their conspiracy to finish AAP. He suggested that the BJP earn people’s trust to gain genuine power, not by sending him and his party’s top 5 members to jail.
“Don’t play games. If you want power, do good work. There are so many problems across the country. Solve them and then come to power,” he added.
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What is the Delhi Liquor Policy Case?
The Delhi Liquor Policy case began in 2022 on the allegation of Delhi’s Lieutenant Governor, who claimed that the new liquor policy favors private businessmen who are funding AAP’s election campaign in Punjab and Goa.
Soon after this, the CBI filed a case against the policy, claiming that it brought financial loss to the state government as it reduced license fees and fixed profit margins. More importantly, it is aimed at benefiting a few private entities.
In this, Manish Sisodia was named the primary architect, and Arvind Kejriwal was the “central conspirator”. The CBI arrested Sisodia in February 2023, and he spent over 17 months in jail before receiving bail by the Supreme Court in August 2024.
Kejriwal also got arrested in March 2024, leading to his resignation later in the year from the position. He received bail in September 2024, soon after which he resigned and now got discharged from the case on February 27, 2026.
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Central Bureau of Investigation to Move its Case to Delhi High Court
On Friday itself, the CBI said that it will immediately move to the Delhi High Court to challenge the discharge of Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia in the Delhi Liquor Policy case.
The New Indian Express reported that the agency will appeal due to the court’s ignorance on several aspects of the investigation. The trial court rejected CBI’s charges, calling them inadequate.
Reports indicate that the judge pointed to misleading averments in the charge sheets and added that there’s multiple gaps in the voluminous document. Also, there’s no corroborated evidence or witness testimony regarding that.
