Delhi Court orders FIR against Arvind Kejriwal over alleged misuse of public funds

A Delhi court has directed the city police to register an FIR against former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and two other Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders over allegations of misusing public funds for political hoardings. The order, issued by Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Neha Mittal of the Rouse Avenue Court, mandates the police to file a compliance report by March 18. The case dates back to 2019, with the complaint alleging that government funds were used to install large hoardings across Dwarka for political promotions.

The complaint was initially filed by Shiv Kumar Saxena under Section 156(3) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). It accused Kejriwal, former AAP MLA Gulab Singh, and Dwarka Councillor Nitika Sharma of defacing public property and misusing taxpayer money for advertisements. The petition was earlier dismissed in 2022 after a police report stated that no such hoardings were found at the locations mentioned in the complaint. However, following a revision petition, the case was reopened, leading to the latest court directive.

Judge Mittal ordered the FIR to be registered under Section 3 of the Delhi Prevention of Defacement of Property Act, 2007, and any other applicable sections. The court rejected arguments that an investigation would be futile due to the time lapse, stating, “This court cannot presume the fact that ordering an investigation will be a futile exercise without even giving a chance to the investigating agency, especially in this era of scientific and technological advancement.” The court also noted delays caused by the police’s repeated failure to submit an action taken report.

The allegations of fund misuse are not new, with previous accusations against AAP for allegedly overspending on publicity. The party was earlier asked to reimburse ₹163.62 crore for allegedly using government funds for political advertisements. Other reports have claimed that promotional spending on schemes like Business Blasters and Desh Ke Mentor exceeded allocated budgets. Kejriwal and his party have consistently denied all such allegations.

This FIR order comes as Kejriwal faces multiple legal challenges, including a money laundering probe in the Delhi liquor policy case. The AAP suffered a major electoral setback in the recent Delhi Assembly elections, losing its majority to the BJP. The Delhi Police must now submit its compliance report on the case by March 18.