Delhi Excise Policy: Court Extends Judicial Custody of Manish Sisodia till May 31

Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court on Tuesday extended the judicial custody of former Deputy CM Manish Sisodia until May 31 in the Delhi liquor excise policy case.

The court has directed the accused persons to provide an estimate of the time required for the inspection of documents. Additionally, it has directed the ED to file a comprehensive reply to a plea by Sameer Mahendru seeking the support of CCTV footage.

The court has also ordered the ED to submit a detailed compliance report on the time allocated to the accused for document inspection and instances when they were not given sufficient time. Sisodia has been in custody since February 26, last year following his arrest by the CBI, and was subsequently arrested by the ED. He resigned from the Delhi cabinet on February 28, 2023.

Bail Pleas Dismissed for 2nd Time

On April 30, the Rouse Avenue Court dismissed the bail petitions of Sisodia for the second time in the case, stating, “…This court is not inclined to admit the Applicant to Bail, either regular or interim, at this stage. The application under consideration is accordingly dismissed.”

Special Judge Kaveri Baweja also noted, “It is apparent that the Applicant individually, and along with different accused, have been filing one or the other application/making oral submissions frequently, some of them frivolous, that too on a piecemeal basis, apparently as a concerted effort for accomplishing the shared purpose of causing delay in the matter.”

It also noted that the period of incarceration of Benoy Babu and that of the applicant (Manish Sisodia) cannot be equated, particularly in view of the findings in the preceding paragraphs of this order, which attribute the slow pace of the proceedings to the applicant himself.

Allegations by CBI and ED

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) have accused Sisodia of involvement in irregularities during the modification of the Delhi Excise Policy, alleging undue favors to license holders, waiver or reduction of license fees, and extension of licenses without proper authorization.

The agencies further allege that the beneficiaries diverted illicit gains to the accused officials and falsified entries in their financial records to avoid detection. Sisodia was apprehended by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on February 26, 2023, in connection with the “scam,” while the Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested the former deputy chief minister on March 9, 2023, in a money laundering case linked to the CBI FIR.

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