Delhi court discharges Kejriwal, Sisodia in assault case against bureaucrat

Anshu Prakash, then the chief secretary of Delhi, had alleged he was assaulted during a meeting at the chief minister's residence on February 19, 2018, following which a first information report (FIR) was lodged against Kejriwal, Sisodia, and 11 other AAP MLAs.

A Delhi court on Wednesday discharged Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, and nine other Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLAs in the connection with the case of assault on former chief secretary Anshu Prakash back in 2018. The court, however, framed charges against AAP MLAs Prakash Jarwal and Amanatullah Khan under Sections 186, 353, and other relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Metropolitan Magistrate Sachin Gupta passed the order on Wednesday. A detailed order, however, is still awaited.

Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia referred to the court verdict and called the day one of victory "of justice and truth". (File Photo )

In a press briefing today, Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia referred to the court verdict and called the day one of victory "of justice and truth".

"The court said that all allegations in the matter were false and baseless," Sisodia said while speaking to reporters. "The chief minister (Kejriwal) was acquitted today in that false case."

Sisodia reiterated his claim that the case was just a 'conspiracy' to bring down Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal. "We had been saying that the allegations were false," he said. "It was a conspiracy hatched against the chief minister."

Anshu Prakash, then the chief secretary of Delhi, had alleged he was assaulted during a meeting at the chief minister's residence on February 19, 2018, following which a first information report (FIR) was lodged against Kejriwal, Sisodia, and 11 other AAP MLAs. Prakash had claimed that he was called for a midnight meeting to discuss the release of the party’s advertisements related to the government completing three years in Delhi, and manhandled and assaulted during the course of the meeting.

The chief minister, the deputy chief minister, and the other AAP MLAs denied any wrongdoing in connection with the incident. The party’s chief spokesperson Saurabh Bhardwaj even accused Anshu Prakash of making false allegations at the behest of the Union government.