When a court rebukes India’s premier investigative agency as sharply as the Rouse Avenue court did last week, the verdict travels far beyond the fate of one politician. The discharge of AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal in the Delhi excise policy case is not merely a personal reprieve for a former chief minister. It is a pointed reminder that the criminal justice system cannot be reduced to a political instrument without cost to its own credibility. Mr Kejriwal’s arrest in March 2024, weeks before the general election, was always going to be read through a political lens.

As leader of the Aam Aadmi Party and the sitting chief minister of Delhi at the time, he was no minor figure. The Central Bureau of Investigation alleged that his government’s 2021 liquor policy was crafted to benefit select private players. The policy was scrapped amid controversy, and a corruption case followed, ensnaring senior leaders such as Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh. Yet after nearly two years of investigation, arrest, denial of bail, and courtroom drama, the trial court concluded there was no overarching conspiracy and no demonstrable criminal intent. Even more striking was its criticism of the CBI’s methods – faulting it for building a narrative on conjecture and on statements of approvers rather than on evidence.

The court went so far as to recommend a departmental inquiry into the conduct of CBI officers. This is the part that should trouble anyone concerned with institutional integrity. The CBI occupies a unique place in India’s governance architecture. It reports to the Union government but is expected to function as an independent investigative arm. Its credibility depends not only on securing convictions but on demonstrating procedural fairness. When courts begin to question the foundation of its investigations, the damage extends beyond a single case. The political context cannot be wished away. The Bharatiya Janata Party, which governs at the Centre, has repeatedly denied using investigative agencies to target opposition leaders.

However, a pattern of high-profile arrests of opposition figures — often timed around elections – has fuelled scepticism. The Kejriwal case will inevitably reinforce that perception, whether or not it reflects intent. None of this implies that elected officials should be shielded from scrutiny. On the contrary, robust investigation of corruption is essential in a democracy. But robustness is not the same as aggression. The rule of law requires evidence that can withstand judicial scrutiny, not headlines that can dominate a news cycle. In clearing Kejriwal and his colleagues, the court has done more than dispose of a prosecution. It has reasserted a boundary: investigative zeal must not outrun proof. If agencies overreach, they risk weakening the cases they seek to build – and erode public trust in the process. The real defendant in this episode was not a former chief minister. It was the credibility of India’s investigative institutions. And that trial, unlike the excise policy, is far from over.

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‘Deal struck between the BJP and AAP:’Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel on Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia’s acquittal in liquor policy case

Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel on Sunday alleged that a deal has already been struck between the BJP and AAP, following the discharge of Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia in the Delhi excise policy case by the lower court, citing a lack of evidence.

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Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva on Sunday hit out at the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and it's leader Arvind Kejriwal, alleging that despite governing Delhi for 11 years, and being in power in Punjab for over three years, they have delivered nothing in both the states, with 'zero development'.

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