"Trial courts apply their mind and take conscious decisions": Sr Advocate Sidharth Luthra on Kejriwal's discharge in excise policy case

New Delhi [India], February 28 (ANI): Senior Advocate and former Additional Solicitor General of India, Sidharth Luthra, on Friday hailed the Rouse Avenue Court, stating that it has showcased that trial courts can take conscious decisions and apply their mind.
"I am happy that the court has taken a view on the lack of evidence, and it is very important that a decision of this nature has come, which shows that our trial courts apply their mind and take conscious decisions. Now it is to be seen what action the accused take for the period that they had suffered custody..." he said.
The statement follows the Court's decision to discharge former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and 22 others in Delhi's excise policy case.
Luthra further added that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and its cases try to keep justifying their investigation; however, with the base gone, the case should fall automatically.
"If I were the accused, I would move for discharge or quashment of the ED case. The point is, the ED as an agency, and ED cases, have a life of their own. The ED keeps conjuring up ways to try to justify their existence and justify their investigations. When the basis of the case is gone, this should fall automatically..." he added.
Meanwhile, Senior Advocate Pramod Kumar Dubey also welcomed the judgement stating that the court took a firm stand in the multi-layered case.
"The judgment is a very positive initiative... Because of the way the case was portrayed, and when we began debating the charges, layers upon layers of it were revealed, and the deeper we delved, the more we argued in court. In the end, it seemed that there was nothing there... The court needed to address the issue of witnesses, including those who were their main witnesses and whom they had made approvers. First, you took two statements... After that, you're taking supplementary statements and filing everything else, which is not legally impermissible. The court took a firm stance, saying that such things shouldn't happen. If you're the prosecuting agency, it's your duty to conduct a fair investigation, not to file your own allegations to prejudice a particular person..." he said.
The case originated from allegations of corruption in the Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22 introduced by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government. The CBI had alleged that the policy was framed to benefit certain private liquor licensees by allegedly reducing licence fees and fixing profit margins, resulting in kickbacks and financial loss to the Delhi government.
The FIR was registered by the CBI in August 2022 following a complaint by Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena. According to the agency, a criminal conspiracy was allegedly hatched at the stage of policy formulation, with deliberate loopholes introduced to favour select entities after the tender process.
With the Special Court's order discharging all accused, the matter at the trial court stage has concluded for now. The legality of that order will now be examined by the Delhi High Court following the CBI's challenge. (ANI)