Manish Sisodia, the former deputy chief minister and senior AAP leader, has filed a second bail application in connection with...
Digital Desk: On Friday, a Delhi special court denied former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia's request for bail in the case registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with alleged irregularities in the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy.
The hearing date for the senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader's second bail application in connection with a related money laundering case filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) is April 5.
Sisodia was denied bail by Special Judge MK Nagpal after CBI lawyer DP Singh argued that while Sisodia may not be a flight risk, he may destroy evidence and threaten witnesses.
Senior lawyers Dayan Krishnan and Mohit Mathur, who represented Sisodia, rebutted the CBI charge and emphasised that all of the other defendants in the case, including two public servants, had already been granted bail. It was also stated that Sisodia's wife suffers from multiple sclerosis and requires round-the-clock care and support.
Sisodia's lawyers also highlighted that nothing from his detention interrogation could justify his continued detention. It was also argued that there was no evidence to support the claim that he will influence witnesses.
Sisodia is currently being held in judicial custody at Tihar Prison. On February 26, the CBI detained the former excise minister in connection with a liquor policy case. The Rouse Avenue court subsequently transferred him to Tihar Prison, where he was detained by the ED on March 9 after a nine-hour questioning. On March 22, after his ED custody expired, a Delhi court returned him to Tihar Prison.
The contentious spirits regulation went into effect in November 2021, effectively ending the government's involvement in retail alcohol sales. According to the government, the goal was to improve the purchasing experience by allowing market competition to boost standards.
The policy was halted in August 2022, shortly after LG VK Saxena requested an investigation.
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