New Delhi: Former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal broke down in tears after a Delhi court acquitted him and former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia in the 2022 excise policy case on Friday, calling the verdict a victory of truth and alleging a political conspiracy against his party.

“I am not corrupt. The court has said that Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia are honest,” Kejriwal said, his voice shaking after the judgment.

The former chief minister said, “Truth wins,” and accused the BJP of orchestrating “the biggest political conspiracy” to defame AAP leaders.

"The BJP was accusing us. Today, the court dismissed all charges and discharged all the accused. We have faith in the Indian judicial system, and I thank the judge very much for doing justice to us…,” he told reporters.

The verdict was delivered by Special Judge Jitendra Singh at the Rouse Avenue court in a case investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation. The court had reserved its order on February 12 after hearing arguments from the agency and the accused.

Kejriwal and Sisodia were among 23 people chargesheeted by the CBI, which alleged that ₹100 crore was paid by a “south lobby” to influence the now-scrapped excise policy. Both leaders had denied the allegations.

At the time the case was registered, Kejriwal was serving as chief minister and Sisodia as his deputy.

Following the acquittal, Kejriwal reiterated that he was innocent and said the case was politically motivated. He said the judgement had exposed what he described as an attempt to tarnish AAP’s image.

The case, one of the most high-profile political corruption investigations in recent years, had seen multiple chargesheets filed since 2022 and had drawn sharp political reactions.