Cases involving the Excise Policy: Sisodia’s Interim Bail Pleas Will Be Heard On September 4

On Friday, the Supreme Court postponed hearings on Manish Sisodia, the leader of the AAP, in two instances involving the Delhi excise policy that the CBI and ED are looking into till September 4.

The medical records of Sisodia’s wife were reviewed by a bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and SVN Bhatti, who concluded that she is “fairly stable” and would be taken into consideration along with ordinary bail requests in the cases. Sisodia has requested temporary release on bail due to his wife’s failing health.

 

The top court had requested comments from the CBI and the ED about Sisodia’s requests for interim relief in the cases on July 14. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) detained Sisodia on February 26 for his suspected involvement in the “scam”; Sisodia was the deputy chief minister and held the excise ministry among many others. Since then, he has been in police detention.

 

On March 9, after interviewing him in Tihar Jail, the ED took him into custody in connection with a money laundering case arising from the CBI FIR. On February 28, Sisodia resigned from the Delhi government.

 

On May 30, the high court refused to grant him bail in the CBI investigation, stating that since he had served as both the deputy chief minister and excise minister, he was a “high-profile” individual with the ability to sway the witnesses.

 

In a money laundering case involving suspected anomalies in the municipal government’s excise policy, the high court denied him bail on July 3, stating that the accusations against him are “very serious in nature.” Sisodia cannot claim he had no part in the alleged swindle since he was at the “helm of affairs” when it occurred, the top court said in its ruling dated May 30.

 

The high court had found that given the witnesses are mostly public officials and Sisodia’s party is still in power in the national capital and still has influence, it is not impossible for them to be swayed. Sisodia formerly handled 18 ministries.

 

The two federal investigation authorities claim that irregularities were committed while changing the excise policy and that license holders were given unfair advantages. The policy was put into effect by the Delhi administration on November 17, 2021, however it was abandoned at the end of September 2022 due to suspicions of corruption.