The Delhi High Court on Wednesday granted time to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to file their replies to Manish Sisodia’s bail plea in the Delhi Excise Policy Case. The central probe agencies had sought a week’s time from the court, but Sisodia’s counsel opposed the request, arguing that Sisodia had been in judicial custody for over a month and that the ED had assured the Supreme Court that the trial would be completed within six months.
Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma granted the probe agencies four days to file their replies and listed the matter for hearing next Monday. On May 2, Sisodia moved the Delhi High Court challenging the trial court order refusing him bail. The Rouse Avenue Court had dismissed his bail plea for the second time on April 30.
The ED and the CBI have alleged corruption and money laundering in the formulation and execution of the Delhi government’s now-scrapped excise policy for 2021-22. Apart from Sisodia, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader and former Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao’s daughter K Kavitha, and several others, including liquor businessmen, have been arrested by the ED.
In a related development, a Supreme Court bench on Tuesday asked the ED to produce case files before and after the arrest of Sisodia.
