New Delhi

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener Arvind Kejriwal on Friday alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah “hatched the liquor scam conspiracy” against him and other party leaders as they could not defeat the AAP in the 2025 Delhi Assembly elections.

Addressing a press conference after a trial court discharged him and 22 others in the Delhi Excise Policy case, Kejriwal said the verdict proves that he and his party are “kattar imandaar” (brutally honest).

“I want to thank the judge. The judge has shown extreme courage when every institution and authority has been intimidated. The court has to decide whether there is evidence for a case. The court in its 600-page order has said that there is not the slightest evidence to even have a case in this matter,” he said.

“Two people, PM Modi and Amit Shah, hatched this conspiracy to finish the Aam Aadmi Party. Today, they should apologise to the country. They knew they couldn’t beat us in Delhi. They knew people were happy with AAP, and that’s why they hatched this case. I have only earned honesty, not money. Now this has been proved that Kejriwal and AAP are ‘kattar imandaar’,” he added.

Court’s observations

Earlier in the day, Special Judge (PC Act) Jitender Singh of the Rouse Avenue Court discharged all 23 accused, including Kejriwal and former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, in the CBI case linked to the now-scrapped Delhi Excise Policy 2021–22.

In a strongly worded order, the court held that the prosecution had failed to disclose “even the threshold of a prima facie suspicion, far less the grave suspicion” required for framing of charges. It described the case as “legally infirm, unsustainable, and unfit to proceed any further in law.”

The court observed that when the material collected by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) was tested on admissibility, relevance and probative value, “the appearance of a coherent conspiracy dissolves,” and criticised the agency’s reliance on approver statements to fill gaps in the case.

Political challenge and attack on Congress

Kejriwal challenged the Centre to hold fresh Delhi Assembly elections.

“I challenge Modi ji to hold elections in Delhi again. If they get more than 10 seats, I will leave politics,” he said.

He also targeted Congress leaders over their remarks on the verdict, questioning why certain Congress leaders had not faced imprisonment.

“I want to ask the Congress — Kejriwal went to jail. Did Robert Vadra go to jail? Sanjay Singh went to jail. Did Rahul Gandhi go to jail? Did Sonia Gandhi go to jail? What is Congress saying? Does it have no shame?” he said.

Background of the case

The FIR in the case was registered in August 2022 following a complaint by Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena. The CBI had alleged that the excise policy was designed to favour select liquor licensees by reducing licence fees and fixing profit margins, resulting in alleged kickbacks and financial loss to the exchequer.

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With the trial court discharging all accused, proceedings at that stage have concluded. However, the CBI has approached the Delhi High Court challenging the discharge order, keeping the legal battle ongoing.