The Delhi high court on Monday dismissed the bail plea of AAP leader Manish Sisodia, who was arrested in a money laundering case related to alleged irregularities in the city government’s excise policy.
A single bench of Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma denied bail to Sisodia, stating that he is not entitled to it at this stage.
It is to be noted that the bail pleas of businessmen Abhishek Boinpally, Benoy Babu, and Vijay Nair, who are co-accused in the same case, were also dismissed by the High Court.
Sisodia, the former deputy chief minister and excise minister of Delhi, was initially arrested by the CBI on February 26 and has been in custody since then. The High Court had already rejected his bail plea in the CBI case on May 30, 2023.
He was arrested again on March 9 in a case filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and is presently in judicial custody. The High Court had reserved its order on Sisodia’s bail plea on June 2, 2023.
The former deputy CM had sought bail on several grounds, including the deteriorating health of his wife, who is suffering from multiple sclerosis.
The ED, along with other accused individuals, opposed his bail plea.
According to the CBI and ED, irregularities were committed during the modification of the excise policy, and undue favors were granted to license holders.
Sisodia had challenged the trial court’s order from March 31, which dismissed his bail plea.
The court considered him to be the “architect” of the alleged scam and deemed him to have played a “most important and vital role” in the criminal conspiracy related to the alleged payment of advance kickbacks.
The Delhi government implemented the policy in November 2021 but revoked it in September 2022 due to corruption allegations.
On May 30, the court also dismissed Sisodia’s bail plea in the excise policy scam being investigated by the CBI, citing his influence over witnesses, many of whom are public servants, and the serious nature of the allegations against him.
