Lucknow: In a significant development, the Rouse Avenue Court has acquitted Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and 21 other accused in the alleged Delhi excise policy case, bringing a dramatic turn to one of the most high-profile political controversies in recent years.
Welcoming the court’s decision, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Uttar Pradesh unit described the verdict as “historic” and a “resounding defeat of political conspiracy.” Addressing a press conference at the party’s state headquarters in Lucknow on Friday, former Uttar Pradesh state president Sabhajeet Singh said the judgment had exposed what he termed “the biggest political conspiracy in independent India.”
Singh alleged that the case was a calculated attempt by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to curb the growing popularity of AAP and its national leadership. He claimed that as AAP and Kejriwal’s political influence expanded across the country, the BJP orchestrated the alleged liquor scam case to defame and politically weaken the party’s top leadership, including Kejriwal, Sisodia and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh.
“The court’s verdict has demolished the conspiracy that was designed to tarnish AAP’s image and dismantle its leadership structure,” Singh said.
He further alleged that a sitting Chief Minister was kept in jail for 177 days, while the former Deputy Chief Minister spent nearly 17 months in prison. Sanjay Singh, he added, was incarcerated for around six months. According to Singh, their families endured mental and social distress during the prolonged legal battle, and party workers across the country were subjected to demoralization efforts.
Expressing gratitude to the judiciary, Singh said every AAP worker welcomed the judgment wholeheartedly and viewed it as a triumph of justice and democracy.
Highlighting what he described as the “Delhi Model” of governance, Singh said the Kejriwal-led government had delivered transformative work in education, healthcare, electricity and water supply. He alleged that the excise case was a deliberate attempt to halt and discredit this governance model.
He asserted that AAP workers in Uttar Pradesh would now redouble their efforts to take the “Delhi Model” of education and public services to villages and households across the state. Referring to past controversies over the merger and closure of government schools in Uttar Pradesh, Singh said AAP and its leaders had strongly opposed such measures and would continue to prioritize education and healthcare as core political issues.
Singh also accused the BJP-led government of misusing constitutional institutions to target opposition leaders. He claimed that AAP leaders were selectively implicated under a “pre-planned strategy” to malign the party. Referring emotionally to Kejriwal’s courtroom moments, Singh said that when the former Chief Minister became emotional and was seen with tears in his eyes, people across the country witnessed it. “Those tears will have to be accounted for,” he remarked.
Over the past decade, Singh added, AAP has expanded its footprint nationwide and achieved recognition as a national party, consistently questioning what it calls the failures of the ruling government. He argued that the alleged liquor scam case was fabricated out of political frustration but has now collapsed under judicial scrutiny.
Concluding the press conference, Singh reiterated that the party had always believed that truth would prevail. “Today’s judgment proves that truth may be troubled, but it cannot be defeated. This is a victory of democracy and justice,” he said, once again thanking the court for its decision.
