New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Tuesday denied bail to senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia in the case registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in relation to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam.
The bail request for Sisodia was denied by a bench led by Justice Dinesh Kumar. The court declined to release Sisodia on bond because it was concerned about his capacity to influence witness testimony.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) opposed Sisodia’s bail plea, saying, “The applicant (Sisodia) enjoys a close nexus with the executive, offices, and bureaucrats, and his influence and clout are evident. His party colleagues holding high ranks continue to make factually wrong claims in order to influence the investigation and also claim the applicant to be a victim of a political vendetta.”
In its submission to the Delhi High Court, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) also stated that granting bail to the applicant (Manish Sisodia) would have serious repercussions and be detrimental to the case’s development.
Manish Sisodia’s representative, Senior Advocate Dayan Krishnan, argued before the court that there is insufficient evidence from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to prove that his client was involved in the alleged irregularities involving the creation and implementation of the government’s excise policy.
Manish Sisodia said in his request for bail that there is no reason to believe he is a threat to the witnesses in the case because he has left his official position and is no longer in a position to control or influence them. The witnesses in the case are mostly civil servants.
Manish Sisodia has been held in judicial custody since his arrest on February 26, 2023, by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
Sisodia’s arrest is part of a larger probe into suspected anomalies in the creation and application of the government’s excise policy in Delhi, the National Capital Territory.
