New Delhi: A Delhi court has acquitted Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia in a 2018 case of alleged assault on then Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash. Nine MLAs from the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) have also been cleared by the special court. The court has, however, ordered framing of charges against two other AAP MLAs - Amanatullah Khan and Prakash Jarwal.
Deputy Chief Minister Sisodia, addressing a press conference soon after the charges were dismissed, claimed a "conspiracy" by Delhi Police against Arvind Kejriwal had been uncovered.
"The court has said that all allegations were baseless and false. We were saying from the first day these allegations are false. There was a conspiracy against Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal..." Mr Sisodia told reporters.
"The Delhi Police hatched this conspiracy at the behest of PM Modi and BJP. A false case was made (but) today the court refused to frame charges. Today is the day of Satyamev Jayate (truth always wins)... today the trust in the judiciary has increased even more," he said.
Mr Sisodia then demanded that the BJP and Prime Minister Modi apologise to Arvind Kejriwal, whom he described as the "most popular Chief Minister in the whole country".
Anshu Prakash was transferred to the Department of Communications later that year (File)
The case relates to an alleged assault on Mr Prakash, a 1986-batch IAS official, during a meeting at Mr Kejriwal's official residence on February 19, 2018
A charge sheet filed by Delhi Police claimed the attack was deliberate, and named Mr Kejriwal and Mr Sisodia among the accused. Investigators also alleged a cover-up by the AAP leaders, which involved disconnecting several CCTVs to prevent the incident from being recorded.
The AAP rejected the charges; a party spokesperson called it the "first instance of a chief minister being examined in a fake case", and slammed the BJP for "pressurising" Mr Prakash to file the case.
He had alleged that Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and 11 AAP MLAs were present when he was threatened false cases unless an issue with TV ads about government achievements was resolved.