Excise policy: Delhi High Court denies bail to AAP leader Manish Sisodia in CBI, ED cases | India News

Sisodia urged the High Court to grant him bail in both cases, submitting that he has been in judicial custody for over 14 months and investigation in the cases is still proceeding and the central investigating agencies agencies are still arresting people in the ED and CBI cases and there is no question of early conclusion of the trial.

File picture of former Deputy CM of Delhi Manish Sisodia.

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Tuesday (May 21) dismissed the pleas of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia seeking bail in corruption and money laundering cases in connection with alleged excise policy scam.

Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma, who had reserved verdict on Sisodia’s bail pleas on May 10, rejected the bail pleas of Sisodia, saying that Sisodia’s conduct amounts to “great betrayal of democratic principles”.

Justice Sharma said that the material collected during the investigation showed that Sisodia prima facie subverted the process of making the excise policy by fabricating public feedback to suit his predetermined goal and allegedly indulged in the destruction of crucial evidence, including electronic evidence. He was handling multiple portfolios in the Delhi Government and a very powerful and influential person, the High Court said.

Sisodia moved High Court against trial court order dismissing his bail pleas

Sisodia had moved the High Court challenging an April 30 trial court order dismissing his bail pleas in the corruption and money laundering cases registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with alleged irregularities in the formulation and implementation of the now-scrapped Delhi Excise Policy.

There is no question of early conclusion of trial, Sisodia told High Court

Sisodia urged the High Court to grant him bail in corruption and money laundering cases, submitting that he has been in custody since his arrest in February last year, which is more than 14 months, and investigation in the cases is still proceeding and the CBI and ED are still arresting people in the corruption and money laundering cases and there is no question of early conclusion of the trial.

CBI, ED opposed Sisodia’s pleas seeking grant of bail

The CBI and ED opposed the bail pleas of Sisodia and accused him and other co-accused persons of filing multiple applications with the intention of delaying the trial and the process of framing of charges in the case. The central investigating agencies also told the High Court that Sisodia is a powerful man and that his party is in power in the national capital and he can tamper with evidence and pressurise the bureaucrats if he is enlarged on bail.

Sisodia had moved the trial court for regular bail and had also filed an application seeking interim bail to campaign for his party in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections, He, however, withdrew his application seeking interim bail for election campaigning after trial court reserved its order on his regular bail plea.

This is second round of bail pleas filed by Sisodia

This is the second round of bail pleas filed by Sisodia in both CBI and ED cases. Earlier, his bail pleas was also rejected by the trial court and the High Court and the Supreme Court upheld the order of the trial court rejecting Sisodia’s bail pleas. The Supreme Court, while rejecting his bail pleas in CBI and ED cases in October last year, however, granted him liberty to file a fresh bail application before the trial court in next three months if there is a change of circumstances or trial in the cases are protracted and proceeds at a snail’s pace.

Sisodia was first arrested by the CBI in the corruption case on February 26 last year and the ED later arrested him in the money laundering case on March 9 last year from Tihar Jail.

The central investigating agencies have alleged that Sisodia played a key role in modifying the Delhi Excise Police to extend undue favours to license holders in exchange of kickbacks.