SC must direct govt to ensure arrests only after magistrate sees documentary evidence: Sibal
Mangalore Today News Network
New Delhi, Feb 28, 2026: A day after former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal was discharged in the liquor policy case, Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal on Saturday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of “weaponising” the law to target opposition leaders.
The senior advocate urged the Supreme Court of India to direct the government to amend the law to ensure that arrests are made only after a magistrate is presented with oral and documentary evidence justifying such action.
Sibal alleged that the government was following a colonial mindset of arresting first and gathering evidence later.
His remarks came after a Delhi court discharged Kejriwal, his former deputy Manish Sisodia and 21 others in the politically sensitive liquor policy case. The court also pulled up the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), stating that it found no “overarching conspiracy or criminal intent” in the policy.
“We want to ask the government who will take responsibility for the 126 days that Kejriwal spent in jail and the 503 days that Sisodia spent in jail. There must be accountability,” Sibal said at a press conference.
“They (BJP) claimed it was a Rs 100 crore scam. The judge observed that it appeared premeditated. The judgment said there was a preconceived plan to make them accused, and then the CBI decided how to proceed,” he added.
Sibal said the Prime Minister often speaks about shedding the colonial mindset. “This entire law reflects a colonial mindset — arrest first, gather evidence later. The law must be amended,” he said. He further alleged that probe agencies follow a pattern of arresting one person and then pressuring them to name others whom they intend to target.
“They force the individual to give a statement before a magistrate accusing others. But they have no evidence, and their objective is to help the BJP,” he said, criticising the investigative agencies.
The probe drags on while people continue to remain in jail, Sibal said, citing cases against opposition leaders such as P. Chidambaram, Hemant Soren and Bhupinder Singh Hooda, among others.
“Look at what is happening against Lalu Prasad Yadav. There are no facts — this is the colonial mindset. You amended the law but retained provisions that allow such action because you intend to use them. You have weaponised the law to target political opponents,” he said.
Referring to leaders such as Ashok Gehlot, Sachin Pilot, Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti, Sibal alleged that only opposition politicians were being targeted.
“We know this is not good for the future of India and its democracy. I urge the Prime Minister to tell the people that there is no corruption, and let the people decide whether that is true or not,” Sibal said. “Do not weaponise the law for political ends,” he added.
Sibal also appealed to judicial officers, including High Court and Supreme Court judges, not to permit prosecutions based solely on unsubstantiated oral statements without documentary corroboration.
The Supreme Court, he reiterated, should direct the government to amend the law to ensure that arrests are made only after magistrates are shown both oral and documentary evidence.
Meanwhile, Special Judge Jitendra Singh declined to take cognisance of the CBI’s chargesheet against the 23 accused. The court observed that the agency’s case failed to withstand judicial scrutiny, particularly as it sought to construct a conspiracy narrative based on conjecture.
The CBI has been investigating alleged irregularities in the formulation and implementation of the now-scrapped excise policy for 2021–22 introduced by the AAP government.
As news of the discharge emerged — a development that had contributed to the fall of the AAP government last February — Kejriwal became emotional and described the corruption case against him as the “biggest political conspiracy” in the history of independent India.