Aam Aadmi Party leader and former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia shared a touching selfie on X this Saturday, showing him savoring a cup of tea with his wife. This moment follows the Supreme Court’s decision to grant him bail in the Delhi liquor policy case, after having been imprisoned in Tihar Jail for 17 months.
” Aazaadi ki subah ki pehli chai …
“The freedom that our Constitution guarantees to every Indian as a right to life. The freedom that God has given us to breathe freely in the open air with everyone,” Sisodia reflected.
Upon his release from Tihar Jail on Friday, Sisodia was welcomed warmly by AAP leaders and family members, with chants of ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ echoing in the background. Expressing his gratitude to BR Ambedkar, Sisodia remarked that it was only through the power of the Constitution that he was able to regain his freedom.
“Since receiving this order in the morning, every inch of my being feels indebted to Babasaheb. I don’t know how we will ever repay this debt to him,” he stated.
The Supreme Court granted bail to the former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister, criticising the lower courts for his prolonged incarceration without trial, which it noted had deprived him of his right to speedy justice.
The court ruled that delays in trial and extended imprisonment were valid grounds for granting bail in money laundering cases, despite the stringent conditions outlined in the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
Sisodia was arrested by the CBI on February 26, 2023, for his alleged involvement in the irregularities related to the formulation and implementation of the Delhi Excise Policy for 2021-22. The Enforcement Directorate subsequently arrested him on March 9, 2023, in connection with the money laundering investigation tied to the CBI’s FIR. He resigned from the Delhi Cabinet on February 28, 2023.