manish sisodia, manish sisodia
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A Delhi court has prima facie termed Aam Aadmi Party leader and former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia as the mastermind behind the criminal conspiracy in the liquor scam. Refusing to grant bail to Sisodia, the court observed that it may adversely affect the investigation of the case and seriously hamper the investigation. The court had reserved its verdict after hearing on March 24.
In his 34-page order, Special Judge MK Nagpal of Rouse Avenue Court said, it has been found that Rs 90-100 crore has been paid as advance bribe which was meant for Sisodia and his other associates in the Delhi government. Of this, Rs 20 to 30 crore came through co-accused in the case Vijay Nair, Abhishek Boinapalli and Dinesh Arora (who has now turned approver). In return, certain provisions of the excise policy were changed to benefit the liquor lobby of the South.
Played an important role in liquor policy
The court said, it is clear from the arguments that the applicant played a key role in the criminal conspiracy. Also, he is deeply involved in the formulation and implementation of the concerned policy, so as to serve the intended purpose. Thus, as per the allegations made by the prosecution and the evidence in this regard, the applicant can be prima facie considered to be the mastermind of the criminal conspiracy. Therefore, the bail application is dismissed.
CBI’s argument… investigation will be affected, danger of destroying evidence
CBI’s counsel opposed Sisodia’s bail plea, saying it would affect the investigation. Even though Sisodia is not at risk of leaving the country, he can definitely destroy the evidence. This thing should not be ignored.
detention does not serve any purpose
In Sisodia’s bail plea, it was argued that no useful purpose would be served by keeping him in custody as all the seizures have already been made in the case. He joined the probe when called by the CBI, he said. The other accused arrested in this case have already been granted bail.