Delhi high court dismisses Sisodia's bail plea in excise policy scam

Delhi high court dismisses bail plea of former deputy CM Manish Sisodia in money laundering case related to excise policy scam.

Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma refused to grant relief to Sisodia, saying that he is not entitled to bail at this stage. Besides Sisodia, the high court also dismissed the bail pleas of Hyderabad-based businessmen Abhishek Boinpally, Benoy Babu, the manager with liquor company, M/S Pernod Ricard and AAP communications in-charge, Vijay Nair, who are co-accused in the case lodged by the ED.

Sisodia, former Delhi deputy chief minister and excise minister, was first arrested by the CBI on February 26 for his alleged role in the scam and has been in custody since then.

The high court has already denied him bail in the CBI case on May 30. He was arrested on March 9 in the case lodged by the ED and is currently in judicial custody. The high court had on June 2 reserved its order on the bail plea of Sisodia, who has sought bail on various grounds, including the deteriorating health of his wife who is suffering from multiple sclerosis.

Also read: Manish Sisodia withdraws interim bail pleas from HC, says wife’s medical condition stable

The ED has opposed Sisodia’s bail plea, as well as the pleas of other accused persons. According to the CBI and ED, which are probing the cases against Sisodia, irregularities were committed while modifying the excise policy and undue favours were extended to licence holders.

Sisodia had challenged the March 31 order of the trial court which 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 ₹90-100 crore meant for him and his colleagues in the Delhi government.

Also read: High Court denies bail to Manish Sisodia in Delhi excise policy scam

The Delhi government implemented the policy on November 17, 2021 but scrapped it at the end of September 2022 amid allegations of corruption.

On May 30, the court had dismissed Sisodia’s bail plea in the excise policy scam being probed by the CBI, saying he is an influential person who could influence witnesses, who are mostly public servants, and the allegations against him are very serious in nature.