Judge who discharged Arvind Kejriwal in excise-policy case dealt with several key matters in past

New Delhi, Feb 27 (PTI) Special Judge Jitendra Pratap Singh, who discharged former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, AAP leader Manish Sisodia and 21 others in the liquor-policy case on Friday, has dealt with several key matters in the past, including reopening a case against Congress leader Bhanwar Jitendra Singh involving M F Hussain's paintings.

The judge had set aside a magistrate's order that dismissed a complaint seeking the prosecution of former Union minister Bhanwar Jitendra Singh, saying there were prima-facie grounds to proceed against him for the offence of criminal breach of trust.

Presently serving as a special judge at the Rouse Avenue court here, Jitendra Pratap Singh is a senior judicial officer of the Delhi Judicial Service. On Friday, he made it to the headlines with his order discharging Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor Kejriwal, Sisodia, Telangana Jagruthi president K Kavitha and 20 others in the liquor-policy case.

Singh handles high-profile corruption cases investigated by federal agencies like the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

A law graduate from the University of Delhi, Singh was appointed as an additional sessions judge in October 2024.

His expertise in handling complex corruption cases has earned him recognition and he has previously rejected pleas in cases involving communal statements made during elections, including those related to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Kapil Mishra.

On March 7, 2025, Singh dismissed Mishra's plea, challenging a trial court's order summoning him in a 2020 case related to hate speech and electoral malpractices.

The case pertained to Mishra's tweets ahead of the 2020 Delhi Assembly polls, where he referred to the Muslim-populated area of Shaheen Bagh as "mini-Pakistan" and dubbed the election as a contest between "India and Pakistan".

On November 14, 2024, Singh also ordered the release of AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan in a money-laundering case connected to alleged irregularities in the recruitment process of the Delhi Waqf Board during his chairmanship.

The judge refused to take cognisance of the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) supplementary chargesheet against Khan under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) for the lack of the requisite sanction under section 197(1).

In the excise-policy case, Singh's court ruled that the prosecution had failed to establish a prima-facie case against the accused, citing lack of concrete evidence and reliance on conjectures.

The decision has sparked a debate, with the CBI already challenging the ruling in the Delhi High Court. PTI SKM RC