New Delhi, March 16 (NationPress) The Delhi High Court has postponed the proceedings on a petition submitted by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) contesting a trial court decision that discharged AAP National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal, former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, and 21 others involved in the Delhi excise policy case.

A single-judge Bench led by Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma granted the AAP officials and other involved parties until April 5 to submit their responses, with the next hearing scheduled for April 6.

Justice Sharma also specified that the previous interim order related to this case would remain effective.

The Delhi High Court was reviewing a criminal revision petition filed by the CBI that challenges the ruling from the Rouse Avenue Court, which had discharged all 23 defendants, including Kejriwal and Sisodia, in the corruption case associated with the now-repealed excise policy enacted by the AAP-led Delhi government.

During the session, senior attorney N. Hariharan, representing Kejriwal, noted that the former Chief Minister has approached the Supreme Court with a Special Leave Petition (SLP) disputing the Delhi High Court’s decision to stay the trial court’s comments concerning a CBI officer involved in the investigation.

On behalf of the CBI, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta contended that the trial court's decision to discharge the defendants was unwarranted and argued for a comprehensive review of the records by the Delhi High Court.

The government’s legal representative asserted that justice was not served and objected to the contested order remaining valid.

He further claimed that Kejriwal was displaying bias not only towards the investigating agency but also against the presiding judge.

It is noteworthy that former Delhi CM Kejriwal has approached the Supreme Court to contest the decision from the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court, who denied his request to transfer the CBI’s revision petition from Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma’s Bench.

Just last week, the Delhi High Court issued a notice to the accused on the CBI’s plea and halted the trial court’s directive for departmental action against a CBI officer involved in the investigation.

The single-judge Bench led by Justice Sharma also suspended the remarks made against the Central agency and its personnel.

On February 27, the trial court issued a comprehensive ruling spanning more than 1,100 paragraphs, discharging all accused and dismissing the prosecution's claims of an overarching conspiracy, indicating that the excise policy was the result of a collaborative and thoughtful process.

However, the CBI has argued before the Delhi High Court that the discharge order is legally flawed and equates to an acquittal without a trial, asserting that the policy was manipulated to favor certain liquor traders in exchange for alleged bribes.