2 min readNew DelhiFeb 27, 2026 06:27 PM ISTA Delhi court on Friday discharged Kejriwal and former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia in an excise policy case (PTI Photo)A Delhi court on Friday ordered departmental proceedings against the Central Bureau of Investigation officer who probed the Delhi excise policy case, in which all 23 accused have been discharged, including Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal and former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia.The court, in the order, directed action against the investigating officer for naming Deputy Commissioner of Excise Kuldeep Singh as accused number one, “in the absence of any material against him”.The court observed, “Such a course of action reduces the investigative process to a self-serving exercise, where legal technicalities are invoked not to uncover the truth, but to shield investigative lapses and to construct a post-facto defence in the event that suppression or distortion of material facts is exposed during judicial scrutiny.” Such conduct amounts to a conscious abuse of official position and strikes at the very core of the criminal justice system, the order added.“I am recommending a departmental inquiry with respect to framing A1 [Singh] as an accused. There is no material at all, and you have framed him as accused number 1” the judge said.In a detailed order, the judge said the investigating officer framed allegations to fit a narrative. The court held that the officer’s probe was “pre-meditated and choreographed”.An investigating officer is not expected to act with tactical cleverness or strategic flexibility; he is required to proceed with candour, neutrality and unwavering fidelity to the factual record, the court order states.The court also questioned the decision to retain some officials in the column of “suspect” while citing them as prosecution witnesses, referring to Arva Gopi Krishna, then Excise Commissioner, and Anand Kumar Tewari, then Deputy Commissioner. The chargesheet had listed Krishna as a suspect as well as a prosecution witness 74.Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram© IE Online Media Services Pvt Ltd