NEW DELHI: Delhi’s Rouse avenue court on Saturday extended the judicial custody of former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and Aam Aadmi Party Parliamentarian Sanjay Singh, both accused in the now-scrapped Excise Policy case, till March 2.
In the meanwhile, the court reserved its orders on whether it can hear the bail plea of Sisodia as his curative petition is pending before the Supreme Court.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) argued that Sisodia cannot seek the same relief through separate pleas in two forums.
If his plea is allowed, then it will be converted into a Special Leave Petition and then there will be two bail proceedings, the central agency submitted.
In another development of the case, special Judge MK Nagpal denied extension of medical interim bail to liquor businessman Sameer Mahandru, an accused (A1) in the Excise Policy-linked-money laundering case.
Sisodia is the 29th accused in the case while Sanjay Singh is A-30.
The court noted that Mahandru's record is seen that during the total period of his custody which is stated to be around 16 months, he has been on interim bail on one or the other ground for around 5 months.
On the bail plea moved citing Mahandru's wife's health condition, the court said, "..simply because some post surgery complications have arisen, which can certainly be managed through medication, the interim bail of applicant cannot be extended again and again and for the purpose of taking care of his wife only."
Sisodia was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on February 26 last year for his alleged role in the corruption case. On February 28, he resigned from the Delhi cabinet.
Multiple bail pleas by Sisodia have been dismissed by courts, including the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court.
Sanjay Singh, who was arrested by the ED on October 4 last year, too was denied relief by the high court. The ED claims that Singh was involved in acquiring, possessing, concealing, dissipating and using proceeds of crime generated from the Delhi liquor scam pertaining to the policy period of 2021-22.
