NEW DELHI: AAP leader and former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, who is in judicial custody in the alleged Delhi liquor scam, on Friday moved a city court seeking interim bail for campaigning in the Lok Sabha elections.
Special judge Kaveri Baweja of Rouse Avenue Courts sought response of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on the interim bail plea and listed it for hearing on April 20.
While special counsel Zoheb Hossain represented the ED, advocate Vivek Jain appeared for Sisodia in the case.
Earlier, the ED had contested the AAP leader’s regular bail plea, citing no delay on the prosecution’s part but rather attributed the delay to frivolous applications filed by the accused in the case.
Sisodia has argued that trial proceedings are progressing sluggishly.
This is his latest attempt after his bail pleas were rejected by the trial court, Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court in both ED and CBI cases. On October 30, 2023, the apex court refused to grant bail to the former Delhi deputy chief minister.
The AAP leader was arrested by the ED on March 9, 2023, in connection with the 2021-22 excise policy, following an earlier arrest by the CBI on February 26, 2023, for his purported involvement in the matter.
Both the probe agencies have alleged irregularities in the modification of the excise policy, including the extension of undue favours to licence holders, waiver or reduction of licence fees, and extension of licences without proper approval.
Besides him, CM Arvind Kejriwal and BRS leader K Kavitha are in judicial custody in connection with the same case.
