Excise scam: Delhi court discharges former CM Kejriwal, Sisodia, K Kavitha and 20 others
New Delhi (PTI): In a massive relief to the AAP's top leadership, a Delhi court on Friday discharged former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, his ex-deputy Manish Sisodia and 21 others in the politically charged liquor policy case by refusing to take cognisance of the CBI chargesheet against them.
Among the 21 people given a clean chit in the case is Telangana Jagruthi president K Kavitha.
Special Judge Jitendra Singh rapped the CBI for lapses in the investigation, saying that there was no cogent evidence against Kejriwal and there was no prima facie case against Sisodia and the other accused.
The CBI has been probing alleged corruption in the formulation and execution of the erstwhile AAP government's now-scrapped excise policy.
ALSO READ: Delhi court discharges Kejriwal, Sisodia in excise corruption case, rejects CBI chargesheet
Underscoring "some misleading averments", the judge said in his strongly worded statement that the voluminous chargesheet had several lacunas not corroborated by evidence or witnesses.
"... The chargesheet suffers from internal contradictions, striking at the root of conspiracy theory," he said.
He said that in the absence of any evidence, the allegations against Kejriwal could not be sustained and that the former chief minister was implicated without any cogent evidence.
This, the judge said, was inconsistent with the rule of law.
Regarding Sisodia, the judge said there was no material on record showing his involvement, nor was any recovery made from him.
The court underlined its finding of the absence of an overarching conspiracy or criminal intent in the excise policy while observing that the federal agency's case did not withstand judicial scrutiny, especially when the CBI sought to construct a narrative of conspiracy onmere conjecture.
It also rapped the agency for building its case through approver statements.
"If such conduct is allowed, it would be a grave violation of the Constitutional principles. The conduct where an accused is granted pardon and then made an approver, his statements used to fill the gaps in the investigation/narrative and make additional people accused is wrong," the court said.
The other accused discharged are 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.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Hubballi: Gym trainer assaulted; police say clash due to personal reasons
Hubballi: A gym trainer was allegedly assaulted by a group of people following accusations of sexual assault and ‘love jihad’, even as both families involved in the case traded serious allegations.
According to police, a group of individuals went to the residence of Sameer Mulla, a resident of Vijayanagar, and questioned him over his friendship with a woman he had met at a gym. The situation escalated into a clash, during which he was allegedly dragged away and assaulted. He sustained minor injuries and was admitted to KIMS hospital.
N. Shashikumar said that after this incident, members from Sameer’s side went to the woman’s house, leading to another clash in which one person was injured. “It was wrong for groups to go near houses. We will take necessary legal action,” he said, adding that the incident appears to have arisen from personal reasons. Police have taken some individuals into custody and are investigating the matter.
Sameer Mulla was reportedly thrashed by a group of Sangh Parivar activists and later handed over to police at the Old Hubballi Police Station after relatives of the woman and members of Hindu organisations gathered at his residence in Rajnagar.
The woman’s family alleged assault and threats from Sameer’s relatives at their Vikas Nagar residence.
Meanwhile, Sameer’s family denied the allegations and accused the woman’s relatives and others of assaulting and kidnapping him. His sister said the two had been in a relationship for three years and that the allegations were baseless.
Police said statements from both sides have been recorded, and a detailed investigation is underway. Sameer remains hospitalised, and appropriate legal action will be taken based on findings.
In a video statement shared on social media, the 20-year-old woman alleged that Sameer had given her an intoxicant, recorded videos without her consent, and sexually assaulted her. She lodged a complaint alleging rape and blackmail, which police are investigating.
In another video, Sameer denied the allegations, claiming the video was recorded with consent and that the accusations were made under pressure.
Former Hubballi-Dharwad Urban Development Authority (HDUDA) chairman Nagesh Kalburgi termed the incident a serious matter and urged police to take strict action.
Police said the case involves multiple complaints from both sides, and further investigation is underway.
