Manish Sisodia will spend a few more days in jail, Rouse Avenue Court rejects bail plea

Denying bail to former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia in a CBI case related to the excise policy scam, the special CBI court at Rouse Avenue said Sisodia could be prima facie considered the mastermind behind the criminal conspiracy in the entire case.

The court found that advance bribe payments of around Rs 90-100 crore were made to him and his other associates in the Delhi government. Out of this, Rs 20-30 crore has been found to be routed through co-accused Vijay Nair, Abhishek Boinapalli and approver Dinesh Arora. Instead, Sisodia modified some provisions of the excise policy to protect the interests of the South lobby. And allowed to manipulate.

Sisodia is currently lodged in Tihar Jail under judicial custody in the CBI and ED case. The court had reserved judgment on March 24 after hearing all the parties. Dismissing the bail plea, Special Judge MK Nagpal said that in view of the present status of the investigation, the court was not inclined to grant bail to Sisodia as his release would not only adversely affect the investigation but would also seriously hamper it.

The court noted that the evidence collected so far clearly shows that Sisodia through co-accused Vijay Nair was in touch with the South lobby and a favorable policy formulation was being ensured for him at all costs.

Not only this, the sale of certain liquor brands of preferred manufacturers was allowed against the very objectives of the policy. The charges against Sisodia are serious in nature and being arrested only on February 26, he is not eligible to be released on bail as the investigation into his role is yet to be completed.

There is no danger of running away but evidence can be tampered with
The court agreed that Sisodia is not a flight risk, but Sisodia has not yet explained whether he has destroyed or provided documents related to the policy along with his old phone. In view of his conduct, in the event of his release on bail, there may be serious apprehension of him himself and at his behest influencing key witnesses or destroying or tampering with some other evidence.

The court also turned down Sisodia’s plea for bail on the basis of the medical condition of the wife, saying that the neurological or mental illness of the wife is claimed to be about 20 years old, but the documents in this regard date back to the year 2022-2023. has been filed.

CBI’s argument
Opposing the bail plea, the CBI had said that the southern group, which was involved in the liquor business, had taken printouts from Sisodia’s computer in a meeting held at the Oberoi Hotel. After this, the policy was changed as per his wish. If, he was granted bail They will scuttle the investigation if it goes to trial and it has been a constant practice by them to destroy the evidence.

Sisodia had asked for bail
Sisodia had requested the court to be granted bail on grounds including his health and taking care of his wife. It had also said that custodial interrogation was no longer required and there was no proper evidence of intimidation of witnesses or tampering with evidence. .

This is the case
Sisedia was arrested by the CBI on February 26 after an eight-hour-long interrogation in a corruption case related to the excise policy and the court sent him to jail in judicial custody on March 6. In the case related to money laundering, the ED The CBI arrested Sisodia inside Tihar Jail on March 9 and on March 22 the court sent him to 14-day judicial custody.