Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court on Tuesday extended the judicial custody of former Deputy Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi party (AAP) leader Manish Sisodia till May 31 in connection with the Delhi excise policy case.
The court has directed the accused to provide an estimate of the time required for inspecting relevant documents. Additionally, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has been urged to file a comprehensive reply to a plea from Sameer Mahendru, which seeks support through CCTV footage.
Also Read:Delhi excise policy case: ED alleges AAP’s Manish Sisodia prolonging trial; denies bail
Further, the court has mandated the ED to submit a detailed compliance report outlining the time allotted to the accused for document inspection and instances when such time was not provided.
Manish Sisodia has been in custody since February 26, 2023, following his arrest by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). He was subsequently arrested by the ED and resigned from the Delhi cabinet on February 28, 2023.
On April 30, the Rouse Avenue Court denied Sisodia’s bail petitions for the second time, with Special Judge Kaveri Baweja stating, “This court is not inclined to admit the applicant to bail, either regular or interim, at this stage. The application under consideration is accordingly dismissed.”
Judge Baweja noted that Sisodia and other accused individuals often submitted applications or made oral requests, some of which were considered frivolous, seemingly to delay the case. The court also observed that Sisodia’s detention cannot be compared to Benoy Babu’s, as Sisodia himself has caused delays in the case.
The ED and CBI claimed that there had been serious irregularities in changing the excise policy. They alleged that undue favours had been given to licence holders, licence fees had been reduced or waived, and L-1 licences had been extended without proper approval.
They also claimed that illegal profits had been given to officials who then falsified their accounts to hide these activities. It was alleged that the excise department had illegally refunded around Rs 30 crore of earnest money to a tender winner.
The Arvind Kerjiwal-led Delhi government implemented the policy on November 17, 2021, but scrapped it at the end of September 2022 amid allegations of corruption.
