NEW DELHI: In yet another major setback to Delhi's former Deputy Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader, Manish Sisodia, the Supreme Court on Thursday in its order rejected his plea seeking a review of its earlier order of October 30, denying him bail in the Delhi Excise Policy case.
"No case for review is made out," the Top court's two-judge bench, headed by Justice Sanjiv Khanna and also comprising Justice S V N Bhatti, said and rejected Sisodia’s review petition for bail.
It is to be noted that the Top Court had in its verdict on October 30, refused to grant bail to Sisodia, who is accused of facing money laundering charges in the liquor policy scam case. By the verdict, the court had dismissed his bail plea in cases lodged by CBI & ED in the Delhi excise policy scam case.
It was challenged, by Sisodia after November first week, through a review petition before the Apex Court, which had also rejected his plea today.
The Apex Court, however, had in its Oct 30 verdict directed that the trial should be completed within 6 to 8 months; if the trial proceeds slowly, Sisodia would be entitled to apply for bail again within three months.
Sisodia was arrested on February 26 for alleged corruption in the formulation and implementation of the now-scrapped Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22 following several rounds of questioning.
In March, the trial court had dismissed Sisodia’s bail plea saying he was prima facie the “architect” of the alleged scam and had played the “most important and vital role” in the criminal conspiracy related to alleged payment of advance kickbacks of nearly Rs 100 crore meant for him and his colleagues in the Delhi government.