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The court on Friday reserved order on the bail plea of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia in the corruption case in the new excise policy. Sisodia is currently in judicial custody in cases registered by the CBI and the ED.
Special CBI Judge MK Nagpal, Rouse Avenue Court, said he would pronounce his verdict on March 31 at 4 pm. The CBI opposed Sisodia’s bail plea saying that granting him bail would hamper the investigation and destroy evidence. Senior Advocate Dayan Krishnan, appearing on the other side, argued that he had complied with the requirements of Section 41A CrPC notice. He said the need for custodial interrogation is over now.
Krishnan said there was nothing on record to show that Sisodia could threaten witnesses. Sisodia’s bail plea in the money laundering case will be heard on Saturday at 10.30 am. The AAP leader was arrested by the CBI on February 26 after questioning him for over eight hours. He was made an accused in the FIR.
According to the investigating agency, there have been alleged irregularities in the formulation and implementation of the Excise Policy for the year 2021-22. The CBI alleged that Sisodia was arrested because he gave evasive answers and did not cooperate with the probe despite the evidence coming to the fore.
The CBI FIR states that Sisodia and others played a key role in making recommendations and taking decisions in respect of the Excise Policy 2021-22 without the approval of the competent authority, with the intention of extending undue favor to the licensee post tender. The ED, on the other hand, has alleged that the excise policy was implemented as part of a conspiracy to give 12 per cent wholesale trading profit to some private companies, further alleging that such condition was mentioned in the minutes of the Group of Ministers (GoM) meetings. had not been. The agency has also claimed that a conspiracy was coordinated by Vijay Nair and other persons with South Group to pass on extraordinary profit margins to wholesalers. According to the agency, Nair was acting on behalf of the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi.