The Delhi High Court on Monday rejected interim bail to Manish Sisodia, former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister, and senior Aam Aadmi Party leader.
However, the court allowed him to visit his wife between 10 am and 5 pm on a suitable day. The court ordered that during this period, Sisodia should only interact with his family members and not use mobile phones or the Internet.
The court also directed the Delhi Police to ensure no media gathering during Sisodia’s visits and instructed that his wife receive the best medical treatment, suggesting an examination by a medical board from AIIMS.
The order was pronounced by Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma after reserving it on June 3.
Sisodia was initially arrested by the CBI on February 26 and remains in jail.
The Enforcement Directorate has also booked him in a money laundering case related to the same scam. While Sisodia sought interim bail citing his wife’s medical condition, the ED argued against it, stating that the bail would only benefit Sisodia and not his wife.
Arguing against the grant of interim bail, ED’s Special Counsel Zoheb Hossain said that Sisodia’s wife has been suffering from the degenerative disease for over two decades and the 6-week bail will make no difference to her but only to Sisodia.
Senior Advocate Mohit Mathur argued that denying a husband the opportunity to meet his wife in such a condition diminishes the significance of a person’s life.
Hossain said that a first information report (FIR) concerning the removal of documents has been filed and the incident is being probed.
Also, the ED highlighted the unauthorized removal of documents related to the excise policy scam, and an FIR has been filed regarding this incident.
Mathur objected to these submissions, claiming prejudice and stating that chargesheets have already been filed in the matter.
