Behind Arvind Kejriwal's Freedom: The 'South Group' Tag, A US Drugs Case

Delhi's Rouse Avenue Court on Friday cleared AAP leaders Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia of corruption charges related to the 2021/22 Delhi liquor policy, closing a case that had hung over the heads of the ex-Chief Minister and his one-time deputy for nearly two years.

"There was no overarching conspiracy or criminal intent in the policy," the court ruled.

Outside the jail a tearful Kejriwal – whose 2025 re-election campaign was spent firefighting liquor policy and 'sheeshmahal' corruption barbs from the BJP, the eventual winners – told reporters: "I always used to say that the truth is with us" and left for home to embrace his family.

But the court today didn't just acquit Kejriwal and Sisodia, and hand the Aam Aadmi Party a political lifeline before the election in Punjab – the only other state it rules – next year.

Special Judge Jitendra Singh also asked searching questions of the Central Bureau of Investigation, the federal agency tasked with building the corruption case against Kejriwal.

And the biggest question was the use of the term 'South Group' or 'South Lobby', flagging it as an arbitrary and regionally prejudicial phrase. "Where did this come from?" the court demanded.

'Manifestly inappropriate, prejudicial'

"I was concerned that terms like 'South Group' were used. This is not correct. If the CBI had filed the same chargesheet in Chennai, would they have used the 'South Group'? the judge began.

The court even placed its comments on record.

"… the Court considers it necessary to place on record its concern with the repeated and deliberate use of the expression ‘South Group' by the investigating agency to describe a set of accused persons, ostensibly on the basis of their regional origin or place of residence."

"Such a nomenclature finds no foundation in law, does not correspond to any legally cognisable classification, and is wholly alien to the statutory framework governing criminal liability."

"… in a constitutional order founded upon equality before law and the unity and integrity of the nation, descriptors rooted in regional identity serve no legitimate investigative or prosecutorial purpose and are manifestly inappropriate," Special Judge Singh reasoned.

The CBI argued the term was a useful catch-all for several accused but the claim was shot down.

The agency was referred to a 2000 landmark verdict from a United States appeals court that set aside a drug dealer's conviction because the prosecution used racial/ethnic terms.

The US court held that was irrelevant to the offense and compromised the trial.

US v Cabrera. Source: Washington and Lee Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice

The remarks are significant because it spotlights the CBI's handling of the case; the agency also called out for trying to build that 'case' on the back of claims by one-time accused individuals.

And the court calling out the label as it did will almost certainly be picked up by political parties from the south, who often argue the north-based federal government, to which the CBI reports, overlooks them.

With elections due in Kerala and Tamil Nadu in a few weeks, the court's remarks on the 'South Group' and asking why the CBI did not also use the phrase 'North Group', will add to the 'north v south' debate.

The 'South Group'

The term refers to a group of Hyderabad-based politicians and businessman accused of interfering in Delhi's 2021/22 liquor policy with a view to illegally generate windfall gains.

The CBI claimed members included ex-Bharat Rashtra Samithi lawmaker K Kavitha from Telangana and Lok Sabha MP Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy from Andhra Pradesh's YSR Congress Party.

Telangana lawmaker K Kavitha speaking to NDTV

Kavitha, who spent nearly six months in jail, spoke to NDTV after the verdict and claimed victory over "political vendetta". "I am really happy that the judiciary could see through this web of lies," she said.

The 'South Group' was alleged to have camped out at a Delhi hotel in March 2021 while they hashed out details of this 'conspiracy', during which time they coordinated with the AAP (then in power).

RECAP | Hotel Evidence Exposed 'South Lobby' Influence On Liquor Policy: Officials

In return they were alleged to have paid kickbacks amounting to Rs 100 crore.

Apart from approvers' statements, the agency relied on WhatsApp chats, hotel records, and some financial evidence to build its argument against Kejriwal and the 'South Group'.

RECAP | ED Pins 2 Approvers' Assets, Worth Rs 115 Crore, In Delhi Liquor Scam

But the Rouse Avenue Court's sharp takedowns meant the agency's case collapsed, and Kejriwal, Sisodia, Kavitha, and the other accused were declared free men and women.

The under-fire probe agency, however, has not given up and will take its case - approvers, 'South Group' and all - to the Delhi High Court. An agency spokesperson said the appeal will argue that the lower court either ignored or inadequately considered several aspects of its investigation.