Modi, Kejriwal must apologise for misleading country: Cong on ED's closure report in CWG case
New Delhi (PTI): With a Delhi court accepting the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) closure report in a case related to the 2010 Commonwealth Games, the Congress on Monday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal must apologise to it and the people of India for misleading the country.
Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said before 2014, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convenor Kejriwal and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had come together to "fabricate scams" like 2G and Commonwealth Games (CWG) to defame his party.
"Two very honest and dedicated leaders -- Dr Manmohan Singh and Mrs Sheila Dixit -- were falsely accused," he said in a post in Hindi on X.
The truth of 2G had already come out in court and on Monday, the court accepted the ED's closure report in the CWG case as well, Ramesh said.
"It is clear -- both the allegations were false! Narendra Modi and Arvind Kejriwal must apologise to the Congress and the people of India for misleading the country. Satyameva Jayate!" he said.
Congress's media and publicity department head Pawan Khera alleged that for years, the BJP ecosystem weaponised lies to tarnish the grand old party over issues like 2G, CWG, Robert Vadra and coal.
The truth stands tall and their falsehoods lie in ruins, he said in a post on X.
"These cases were never about justice; they were about political persecution, headlines over substance, and deflecting attention from their own failures," Khera said.
"The collapse of these manufactured cases is not just a legal victory, it is a moral and political indictment of the BJP's politics of false narrative. Truth does not shout from TV studios, it asserts itself quietly, powerfully, and inevitably," he added.
Will the prime minister apologise to the nation, the Congress leader asked.
Khera also asked whether Kejriwal would apologise to the people of Delhi.
A Delhi court on Monday accepted the ED's closure report in a money-laundering case against Suresh Kalmadi, the head of the organising committee of the 2010 CWG, its secretary general Lalit Bhanot and others.
The acceptance of the closure report brought to an end the money-laundering angle in the alleged scam, which took place 15 years ago.
The allegations of corruption in conducting the 2010 CWG triggered a huge political uproar in the country, leading to several criminal and money-laundering cases, including the present one, being filed.
Kalmadi and others were accused of misconduct in the award and execution of two important contracts for the games.
Special judge Sanjeev Aggarwal noted that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had already closed the corruption case, based on which the ED started its money-laundering probe.
The judge took note of the ED's submission that the offence of money-laundering could not be proved during its investigation.
"Since during the investigations, the prosecution has failed to make out an offence under section 3 (money-laundering) of the PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) ... as no offence under section 3 of the PMLA has been made out or has been committed, despite discreet investigations by the ED, therefore, there is no reason to continue with the present ECIR. As a consequence, the closure report filed by the ED stands accepted," the judge said.
The sole money-laundering investigation was initiated by the ED on the basis of the case lodged by the CBI.
The CBI filed its closure report in January 2014, saying "no incriminating evidence surfaced during the investigation in the matter" and the allegations in the FIR could not be substantiated against the accused.
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High courts upheld only 8 per cent of death sentences; SC confirms none in recent years: Report
New Delhi (PTI): Highlighting that a high acquittal rate of death row convicts by the Supreme Court and high courts demonstrates a pattern of "erroneous or unjustified convictions", a study of 10 years of death penalty data has revealed that the top court did not confirm any death sentences in recent years.
The study by Square Circle Clinic, a criminal laws advocacy group with the NALSAR University of Law in Hyderabad, found that an overwhelming majority of death sentences imposed by trial courts did not withstand scrutiny at higher judicial levels. Acquittals far outnumbered confirmations at both the high courts and Supreme Court levels.
According to the report, the trial courts across India awarded 1,310 death sentences in 822 cases between 2016 and 2025. High courts considered 842 of these sentences in confirmation proceedings but upheld only 70 or 8.31 per cent.
In contrast, 258 death sentences (30.64 per cent) resulted in acquittals. The study noted that the acquittal rate at the high court level was nearly four times the confirmation rate.
Data showed that of the 70 death sentences confirmed by high courts, the Supreme Court decided 38 and did not uphold a single one. The apex court has confirmed no death sentences between 2023 and 2025.
"Wrongful or erroneous or unjustified convictions, then, are not random or freak accidents in the Indian criminal justice system. The data indicates they are a persistent and serious systemic concern," the report said.
Over the last decade, high courts adjudicated 1,085 death sentences in 647 cases, confirming only 106 (9.77 per cent). During this period, 326 persons in 191 cases, were acquitted.
The report attributed low confirmation rates to the appellate judiciary’s concerns regarding failures in due process. "This coincides with increased Supreme Court scrutiny of safeguards at the sentencing stage," the report said.
Of the 153 death sentences decided by the apex court over the last decade, the accused were acquitted in 38 cases. In 2025 alone, high courts overturned death sentences into acquittals in 22 out of 85 cases (over 25 per cent). The same year, Supreme Court acquitted accused persons in more than half of the death penalty cases it decided (10 out of 19), the report said.
The study highlighted that 364 persons who were ultimately acquitted "should not even have been convicted and unjustifiably suffered the trauma of death row". It added that such failures extend beyond adjudication and reflect serious lapses in investigation and prosecution.
The question of remedies for wrongful convictions remains pending before the Supreme Court. In September 2025, three persons acquitted by the apex court filed writ petitions seeking compensation from the state and argued that their wrongful convictions violated their fundamental right to life and liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution.
"In 2022, the Supreme Court crystallised a sentencing process in Manoj v. State of Madhya Pradesh , and mandated all courts to follow those guidelines before imposing or confirming a death sentence," the report read.
In 2025, the apex court held in Vasanta Sampat Dupare v. Union of India that death penalty sentencing hearings form part of the right to a fair trial and stressed that capital punishment can be imposed only after a constitutionally compliant sentencing process.
"However, even at the high courts whether the process mandated under Manoj is being complied with is in doubt,” the report said.
