Dictated in open court, signed, uploaded and left without any application for correction for about five months: the Delhi High Court has refused a preliminary hearing on maintainability of the CBI’s plea against the excise policy discharge.
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New Delhi: Dismissing a plea by accused Vijay Nair, the Delhi High Court on Friday (October 9) declined to modify its earlier directions so that his objection to the maintainability of the Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) revision petition against the discharge of Arvind Kejriwal and 22 others in the excise policy case would be decided before the merits [CBI v. Kuldeep Singh and Others].
Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma rejected the application. The allegations in the case are untested, the Court has expressed no view on the merits of the maintainability objections, and every accused is presumed innocent.
The record comes first
The Court relied on the judicial record. The earlier order had been dictated in open court and signed, and counsel for Nair raised no objection at that time. It was then uploaded, and about five months passed without any application seeking its correction or a reference to the Court.
Other pleas are not shut out. The Court clarified that the Roster Bench remains free to consider them, and that its order expresses no view on the merits of the maintainability objections.
How the plea arose
On February 27, the trial court discharged all 23 accused in the liquor policy case, including Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and K. Kavitha, and criticised the CBI’s investigation.
The CBI challenged the discharge in a revision petition before the High Court. Nair then asked the Court to modify its directions so that his objection to maintainability of that revision would be taken up first.
Why the order matters
The order shows that a court will treat its signed, uploaded order as the settled record, and that an accused who did not object when it was dictated cannot seek its modification months later. The maintainability objection remains open for the Roster Bench to consider along with the other pleas.
Case Title: CBI v. Kuldeep Singh and Others
Bench: Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma, Delhi High Court
Date of Order: October 9, 2026