Excise ‘Scam’: Delhi Court Holds Decision on Manish Sisodia’s Bail Appeals

The CBI and the ED filed bail requests for AAP leader Manish Sisodia in corruption and money laundering charges related to the purported Delhi excise policy case, and a judge in this city postponed making a decision on the requests on Saturday. After hearing arguments from the federal investigative agencies and the attorney representing Sisodia, the special judge for the CBI and ED Kaveri Baweja set aside the judgment until April 30.

The leader of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had also filed temporary bail requests in both instances in order to promote the impending Lok Sabha elections. Sisodia’s attorney, however, informed the court today that because the standard bail plea is being withheld, the plea has become infructuous.

Both the CBI and the ED have claimed that irregularities were made while changing the Delhi Excise Policy, that license holders had unfair advantages, that the cost of licenses was lowered or dropped, and that licenses were renewed without the consent of the appropriate authorities. The investigating authorities have claimed that in order to avoid discovery, the beneficiaries reportedly transferred “illegal” income to the accused officials and created fake entries in their books of account.

On February 26, 2023, Sisodia was taken into custody by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) due to his purported involvement in the “scam”. In a money-laundering case resulting from the CBI FIR, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) detained the former deputy chief minister on March 9, 2023. The Delhi cabinet was resigned by Sisodia on February 28, 2023.