Excise case: Court grants interim three-day bail to Manish Sisodia

A Delhi court on Monday granted three days’ interim bail to former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia in the cases registered by Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the alleged irregularities in formation and implementation of Delhi excise policy 2021-22.
Sisodia moved an application on Friday seeking interim bail from February 12 to February 16 to attend his niece’s wedding on February 14 in Lucknow.
CBI strongly opposed the interim bail application, saying that Sisodia is a highly influential person and held a powerful post due to which he can tamper evidence. The agency also argued that the investigation regarding the larger conspiracy behind the now scrapped policy is still pending.
ED, on the other hand, argued that a day’s time can be granted to Sisodia to go and attend the wedding function in Lucknow with stringent conditions.
This is the first time Sisodia has been granted bail since he was arrested in February 2023.
Senior advocate Mohit Mathur, representing Sisodia, submitted that a day’s time would be too short to go to Lucknow attend the wedding and return to Delhi.
Upon being asked by the court that whether officers can also be sent with him in civil clothes, Mathur argued that “Even if I get three days to attend the marriage functions it is fine by me but not with cops going with me as it will spoil the atmosphere”.
The court after hearing both the sides granted bail to Sisodia.
Meanwhile, the court listed the Aam Aadmi Party leader’s regular bail application for arguments on February 17.
Sisodia has also filed a regular bail application before the court on the grounds that he has been detained for over 11 months and has not been implicated in the alleged offence as the agency has failed to establish any financial gain or undue advantage obtained by him.
He added that he is a victim of political witch hunt, and his pre-trial detention is in violation of his fundamental rights. He further pointed out that he is at risk of prolonged imprisonment, due to delayed and protracted legal proceedings.
Sisodia argued that there has been a lack of progress in the trial despite more than three months having passed since his bail was denied by the Supreme Court on October 30, 2023.
He pointed out that the Supreme Court, relying upon the agencies’ assurance that the trial would conclude within 6-8 months, had granted him liberty to file a fresh bail application if the trial is protracted and proceeds at snail’s pace in the next three months.
His earlier bail applications have been dismissed by all the courts.