The observations made by the special judge while acquitting the former chief minister of Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal, his then deputy, Manish Sisodia, and others in the Delhi liquor policy case are a damning indictment of the prevailing culture of prejudicial intent demonstrated by Central investigation agencies. Their mischief-mongering, as India’s Opposition parties have alleged often, is the consequence of the weaponisation of premier investigative agencies by the Narendra Modi government. The Central Bureau of Investigation was taken to task by the court on account of a number of infirmities in this investigation: its enthusiastic reliance on the dodgy statement of approvers being one such flaw. Incidentally, of the two approvers — they were co-accused in the case — one was a donor to the Bharatiya Janata Party, while the other was given an electoral ticket by the National Democratic Alliance for the 2024 general election. Weak material that does not meet the threshold of legally admissible evidence, attempts to project the failure of a policy as proof of criminality, and conspiracy allegations based on inferences or uncorroborated statements of witnesses were some of the other howlers committed by the CBI.

The irony, though, is that Mr Kejriwal’s acquittal may have come a bit too late in the day in terms of political consequence. The Delhi liquor policy case was singular in some aspects. A sitting chief minister was sent to jail, that too before a crucial poll. The BJP’s targeted smear campaign against Mr Kejriwal and his Aam Aadmi Party before the Delhi assembly election yielded a public response, leading to the AAP’s ouster from power. This reveals an emerging, discomfiting trend. Indian politics has never been free from the spectre of corruption. Several assessments have repeatedly pointed to the deepening of the roots of corruption in public life in this country. Indian voters are aware of this dismal reality. But what seems to be crystallising now is the sway of political optics on electoral outcomes. The perverse power of the BJP’s campaign against Mr Kejriwal was such that the allegations — they have now been dismissed by a court of law — managed to strike a chord with the electorate. This spectacle of an orchestrated verdict in the electoral court is a dangerous trend. Mr Kejriwal may weep at the injustices suffered by him. But he must concede that his party could not find a way of neutering its opponent’s wily assault when it mattered the most.