The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to list Delhi’s former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia’s bail plea on July 14 in connection with liquor policy irregularities case.
Sisodia, who was arrested on February 26, has been booked in cases registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) as well as the Enforcement Directorate (ED). Seeking bail in the ED case, Sisodia, in his plea, said that the probe conducted so far has not traced any proceeds of crime to him and in the absence of any evidence to link him with alleged money laundering, he deserves to be granted bail.
The petitions filed through advocate Vivek Jain also rely on the fact that other co-accused in the case have been granted bail.
Manish Sisodia moved the Supreme Court on July 6 after he was denied bail by the Delhi High Court in the ED case on July 3.
Prior to the HC ruling, even the trial judge had refused him bail on April 28 via a detailed order, noting that based on the evidence collected so far, it could be clearly inferred that the applicant (Sisodia) was related to the generation of proceeds of crime of around ₹100 crores in the form of kickbacks which were paid by the ‘South lobby’ to the co-accused Vijay Nair, who is Aam Aadmi Party’s communication in-charge.
Before the July 3 order, when the bail was declined on May 30 in the CBI case, the high court was of the view that due to the high political positions held by the accused and his position in the party in power in Delhi, the possibility of influencing the witnesses cannot be ruled out.
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The CBI had arrested Sisodia on February 26 pursuant to a FIR registered in August 2022 under Section 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code, read with Section 477A (falsification of accounts) and Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act (illegal gratification) in connection with irregularities in framing and implementation of the excise policy of Delhi for 2021-22. Of these offences, Section 477A of the IPC carries a maximum sentence of seven years. In the charge sheet, other sections under IPC and PC Act were also added.
Following his arrest, Sisodia has been lodged at Delhi’s Tihar jail.
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The CBI probe into Delhi’s excise policy case was ordered based on a complaint by Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena in July, where he sought a detailed investigation into the rules being allegedly tweaked to benefit certain individuals and liquor barons. There were also suggestions that kickbacks were being paid to those in power, reaching up to Sisodia, who held the Excise portfolio.
It was under him that the 2021-22 excise policy was introduced in November 2021. The policy earned Delhi government Rs 8,919.59 crore, estimated to be 27 per cent higher than the base price bids at which the licences were awarded.