By India Today News Desk: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said the “whole of liquor scam was false” after a court in the national capital granted bail to two accused in the case observing that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) could not show evidence of any cash payment for bribe or kickback.
The AAP supremo took to social media to state that “even courts” have started to echo the notion that the scam was fabricated after Rouse Avenue court granted relief to Rajesh Joshi and Gautam Malhotra.
“The whole liquor scam is false. We were saying it from beginning. Now even courts have started saying it. Its a desperate measure by BJP to malign an honest party like AAP,” Kejriwal said.
While granting the bail to the two accused in the case, the court said that “prima facie” there was no incriminating evidence against the two in the money laundering case.
In an order rendered by special judge MK Nagpal, the court stated that all oral and documentary evidence collated at the time of the investigation were “not sufficient” to make the court conclude that the case against the two accused was “genuine or that they were going to be guilty”.
The court granted a bail to the two accused on furnishing a bail bond of Rs 2 lakh each and one surety bond of the amount.
AAP’s Atishi held a press conference on Sunday shortly after the bail order of the accused was made public.
“Now even Court has said that there is no material evidence of any kickback or money laundering. We have been saying right from beginning that entire liquor scam is bogus and meant only to malign AAP,” the AAP supremo wrote on Twitter.
AAP misrepresenting bail order: BJP
The BJP on Sunday alleged that the AAP leaders were presenting a “twisted and misleading” reference to the court order allowing bail to the accused. The party also demanded a contempt of court proceeding against AAP leaders.
Union Minister Meenakshi Lekhi charged that the AAP leaders are “spreading lies” and “misleading” people by portraying the court’s bail order as its judgement in the case.
“Order on bail is not an order on discharge or acquittal,” the BJP MP from the New Delhi constituency said.
“The bail order has been portrayed as to be an order that there is no scam and no wrong has been done. Reading the court’s bail order in parts, they have tried to mislead people once again,” Lekhi further alleged.
This comes days after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) named Manish Sisodia as an accused for the first time in its supplementary chargesheet filed before a CBI court in Delhi.
Sisodia was arrested by the probe agency in February after they questioned him for eight hours in connection with the case.
