Nearly two months after former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the probe agency filed a supplementary chargesheet naming him and others in the excise policy scam case.
The supplementary chargesheet filed in the case on Tuesday also names Butchi Babu, former auditor of Bharat Rashtra Samithi leader Kavitha, private person Arjun Pandey and liquor trader Amandeep Singh Dhall.
The law enforcement agency had arrested Sisodia on February 26 and the chargesheet was filed 58 days later and this may deny him the chance of getting default bail.
The CBI has invoked IPC 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 201 and 420 apart from provisions of Prevention of Corruption Act.
Special Judge MK Nagpal had on April 18 decided to reserve the order on the bail plea of Sisodia and fixed April 26 for the pronouncement of the order.
Earlier, on April 12, Zohaib Hossain, representing the Enforcement Directorate (ED), said that the case has all of the elements of a conspiracy. Opposing the bail plea he had said, “an illegal ecosystem was created in view to give illegal benefits to liquor cartels to get kickbacks”.
The ED’s counsel also claimed that Sisodia played a key role in modifying and implementing the policy.
He added that the ED has evidence that the policy was modified without any deliberation and discussion. “And we also have sufficient statements from various concerned persons to show that the profit margin increased from 6 per cent to 12 per cent was meant as kickbacks.”
Appearing for Sisodia, Senior Advocate Dayan Krishnan argued that Sisodia cannot be kept in custody only on the basis of speculations. Sisodia’s counsel submitted that no money laundering case is made out against him.