The Supreme Court has recently scheduled to hear the bail plea of former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on July 14 in connection with the Delhi Excise Scam case.
The plea was mentioned before Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud by Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who sought urgent listing due to Sisodia’s wife’s illness.
The CJI directed the case to be listed on July 14.
Sisodia, who is involved in the excise policy scam case, has approached the Supreme Court challenging a Delhi High Court order that denied him bail in the cases filed against him by the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate.
The Delhi High Court had previously rejected his bail plea in the ED and CBI cases related to the same scam.
Further, the allegations state that Delhi government officials illegally grant specific traders liquor licenses in exchange for bribes.
The central agencies claim that the excise policy was manipulated to benefit certain traders, resulting in kickbacks.
The ED and the CBI initiated investigations into the alleged scam based on a Delhi Chief Secretary report recommended by Delhi Lieutenant Governor (LG) VK Saxena.
Sisodia maintains that the policy and its amendments were approved by the LG, and he questions the CBI’s pursuit of the policy decisions made by an elected government.
He argues that no money has been traced to him and that the agencies are re-evaluating a liquor policy formulated and approved by the elected government and the LG.
The High Court, while denying bail to Sisodia in the ED case, noted the seriousness of the allegations and the significant financial implications involved in the case, referring to it as a deep-rooted conspiracy resulting in a substantial loss of public funds.
Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma remarked that the excise policy case is unique, alleging that the Deputy Chief Minister formulated a policy to favour external beneficiaries.
