FIR filed against Arvind Kejriwal, others over Public Property Act violation, Delhi Police tells court

Delhi police on Friday informed the Rouse Avenue court that they have registered an FIR against Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convenor Arvind Kejriwal and others over alleged violations of the Defacement of Public Property Act in Dwarka.

The court had directed the police on March 11, 2025, to file the FIR and submit a compliance report. In response, Delhi police presented the compliance report before Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (ACJM) Neha Mittal, confirming that the FIR had been registered, news agency ANI reported.

Police further stated that the investigation is ongoing, given that the case dates back several years, and sought additional time to probe the matter. The court has scheduled the next hearing for April 18, 2025.

The complaint, filed by Shiv Kumar Saksena, accuses former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, ex-MLA Gulab Singh, and MCD Councillor Nitika Sharma of defacing public property in Dwarka in 2019. The court, after reviewing the case, ruled that the application under Section 156(3) Cr.P.C. merited approval, leading to the directive for FIR registration.

"Accordingly, the concerned SHO is directed to register FIR immediately U/s 3 of Delhi Prevention of Defacement of Property Act, 2007 and any other offence that appears to have been committed from the facts of the case," ACJM Mittal order on March 11.

Complainant alleges 'misuse of public money'

The complainant has alleged that public money was misused by putting up large hoardings at multiple locations in Dwarka, including DDA parks, main crossings, power poles, and public walls. One of the hoardings reportedly announced that the Delhi government would soon start registration for Kartarpur Sahib darshan, featuring photographs of then CM Arvind Kejriwal and former MLA Gulab Singh.

Another hoarding extended greetings for Gurunanak Dev Jayanti and Kartik Purnima, displaying the name and photograph of MCD Councillor Nitika Sharma along with images of PM Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, and other political leaders. The complainant claimed that a police complaint was filed but no action was taken.  

Court orders fresh probe 

In 2022, Dwarka South police submitted a report stating that they did not find any such hoardings at the mentioned locations and that no criminal offence was committed. Because of this, the Metropolitan Magistrate of Dwarka dismissed the complaint in September 2022.

However, the complainant filed a revision petition, leading the Rouse Avenue court to allow the matter for fresh hearing. The session court directed the trial court to reconsider the application under Section 156(3) of Cr.P.C. The Legal Aid Counsel argued that an investigation was necessary since it was beyond the complainant’s means to determine who put up the hoardings. 

The prosecutor argued against the plea, saying the hoardings didn’t have any details about where they were printed, making it hard to trace who put them up. But the court didn’t agree and said that just because some names were missing from the complaint didn’t change anything. It also made it clear that the authorities could still name anyone as an accused if the investigation found them responsible.