NEW DELHI: A Delhi court on Saturday extended by two more days the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) custody of former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia in the case relating to alleged corruption in the excise policy for the year 2021-22.
Special Judge MK Nagpal granted CBI two days custody though the central agency reportedly sought three days custody of the AAP (Aam Aadmi Party) leader claiming that he has not been cooperating with the questioning. The CBI reportedly informed the court that it has to confront Sisodia with a few excise officials and certain documents which are missing are to be traced to unearth the conspiracy further.
But the central probing agency plea was opposed by Sisodia's lawyer who reiterated his earlier argument, that the inefficiency of the agency to complete its probe cannot be a ground for remand and he cannot be asked to incriminate himself.
When judge Nagpal enquired Sisodia about his 'well-being,' the AAP leader claimed that the CBI is asking the same questions again and again and it causes him 'mental harassment.'
The AAP leader, addressing the court for the first time, complained to the judge that the probe agency is repeatedly asking the same questions, while he is sitting in the same position. The interrogation from 8 am continuing for several hours is mental harassment, he said.
"They don’t have anything in documents, only in statements," Sisodia said, adding that the 'mental harassment' is itself 'third degree.'
Earlier on Monday, the court had directed the CBI to interrogate Sisodia only at a place where CCTV cameras are placed, in order to avoid the fear of force used on him. Sisodia will be medically examined every 48 hours and his wife will be able to meet him for 15 minutes every day, the court had said. His lawyers are allowed to meet him for half an hour between 6 pm and 7 pm daily.
His lawyer Dayan Krishnan asked, "What is the difference between day 1 (of his arrest) and today?", implying what did the probing agency unearth after all the questioning.
Krishnan also submitted that non-cooperation can’t be a ground for remand. ‘We will wait till he confesses’ cannot be a ground of remand, he argued.
Senior advocate Mohit Mathur, who also represented Sisodia, prayed the court to consider the medical condition of Sisodia's wife, who is suffering for a long time from multiple sclerosis, a disease in which the immune system eats away at the protective covering of nerves.
In the meantime, regarding Sisodia's bail plea, the court asked the CBI to respond and listed it for March 10 at 2 PM.
The CBI on Sunday evening arrested Sisodia in connection with alleged corruption in the formulation and implementation of the now-scrapped liquor policy for 2021-22.
The CBI alleged that as the minister in charge of the excise department, the policy formulated and approved by Sisodia was allegedly tweaked to favour select liquor traders and led to losses to the tune of Rs 2,873 crore to the state exchequer.
After the trial court sent him five-day CBI custody on Monday, Sisodia moved to the Supreme Court the next day seeking bail, which refused to entertain his plea. Soon after the top court’s refusal to bail, Sisodia and another jailed minister Satyendar Jain resigned from the Arvind Kejriwal-led cabinet on Tuesday.