Delhi excise policy case: SC adjourns Sisodia's bail hearing to August 5

Sisodia contended that he has been in custody for 16 months and the trial against him has not made any progress since October last year.
Former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia.
Former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia.(File Photo)
Updated on
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NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court adjourned former Delhi deputy CM Manish Sisodia’s plea challenging the Delhi High Court’s order rejecting his bail to August 5 in the excise policy-linked money laundering case.

A two-judge bench of the top court, led by Justice B R Gavai and Justice K V Viswanathan said, "Let the ED reply be filed prior to Thursday. The CBI reply is filed but not on record. Let rejoinder, if any, be filed by Saturday.”

During the hearing on Monday, the Additional Solicitor General (ASG), S V Raju on behalf of the ED said, “Our counter was ready. But we have some preliminary objections.”

“It is the second SLP challenging the same order. Same order cannot be challenged," Raju objected to the plea filed by Sisodia.

Abhishek Manu Singhvi, senior lawyer for Sisodia, objected to it and said, “We would show why these pre-emptive submissions were being made. This is shocking and very unfortunate for a prosecutor to say this."

Countering this, Raju argued that if any application was filed, it has to be dealt with by the trial court.

Sisodia contended that he has been in custody for 16 months and the trial against him has not made any progress since October last year.

"I have been inside (Tihar jail) for 16 months and the trial is at same speed as that was in October 2023. This is not like a NDPS case. The trial is at snail pace.”

The Supreme Court had issued notice to the CBI, ED and sought their detailed respective replies on hearing the bail pleas filed by Sisodia seeking bail related to corruption and money laundering charges in the excise policy case.

Former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia.
HC rejects bail of Manish Sisodia, says his conduct amounts to 'great betrayal of democratic principles'

Earlier, advocate Vivek Jain appearing for Sisodia, pleaded to the apex court that the court should grant his client the bail.

The AAP leader, Sisodia on last Monday moved the apex court and applied to revive a disposed-off petition that was filed earlier seeking bail.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had registered the case against Sisodia in the now-scrapped Delhi liquor excise policy 2021-22, naming him as one of the accused in the case. Sisodia in the first month of May has moved the Delhi High Court challenging the Rouse Avenue Court's April 30 order of dismissal of his bail. Sisodia is presently in judicial custody in both the cases registered by the CBI and the ED.

Singhvi submitted to the court that the former Delhi's Deputy Chief Minister is languishing in jail for even more than a year, as he was arrested on February 26, 2023, for the alleged corruption in the formulation and implementation of the Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22 following several rounds of questioning. "He is innocent in the case. He has no role in the Delhi liquor case," he told the Court.

Sisodia was denied bail by the trial court, Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court in both ED and CBI cases. The Supreme Court had also dismissed Sisodia's review petition, as he sought bail. His curative petition has also been dismissed. So far, he failed to get any relief from courts in the case.

In March, the trial court had dismissed his 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.

The Supreme Court had on December 14 last year, in its order rejected his plea seeking review of its earlier decision of October 30, denying him bail in the case.

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