Former Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi, Manish Sisodia, has had his judicial custody extended until November 22 in the excise policy case, as ruled by a Delhi court.
This decision followed a recent development in the case, where the Supreme Court highlighted a crucial aspect. It conveyed to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) that if the alleged bribe paid to manipulate the Delhi excise policy isn't categorized as a part of a predicate offense, it might become challenging for the federal probe agency to substantiate the charge of money laundering against Manish Sisodia.
In the case's context, the bench, comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna and SVN Bhatti, reserved its verdict on two separate regular bail pleas filed by Sisodia concerning the corruption and money laundering cases. The bench emphasized that it's not sufficient to rely on the assumption that a bribe was paid. Instead, the accused should be granted the legal protections guaranteed under the law.
This comment from the bench was prompted by the statements made by senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, who was representing Sisodia. Singhvi pointed out that there were no allegations suggesting that a bribe was connected to the predicate offense as per the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) case against the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader.
Manish Sisodia's arrest was carried out by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on February 26 in connection with the alleged 'scam.' He has remained in custody since that time. Following his questioning at Tihar Jail, the Enforcement Directorate arrested him on March 9, concerning the money laundering case that stemmed from the CBI's First Information Report (FIR).
Sisodia officially resigned from the Delhi cabinet on February 28.
The Delhi government initially implemented the excise policy on November 17, 2021, but later withdrew it at the end of September 2022 due to corruption allegations.
The investigating agencies contend that under the new policy, the profit margin of wholesalers was increased from 5 percent to 12 percent in exchange for financial considerations. They further assert that this new policy led to cartelization and favored those who were ineligible for liquor licenses, all for monetary gains.
However, both the Delhi government and Manish Sisodia have consistently denied any wrongdoing. They have argued that the new policy would have ultimately increased the state's excise revenue.
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