The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear the bail pleas of Manish Sisodia, a prominent leader of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and former deputy chief minister of Delhi, on Monday. These pleas pertain to corruption and money laundering cases linked to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam. Sisodia’s legal team has argued that he has been incarcerated for 16 months, and the trial against him has not seen any substantial progress since October of last year.
The Supreme Court’s cause list for July 29, as uploaded on their website, indicates that a bench comprising Justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan will be presiding over the hearing of Sisodia’s bail pleas. On July 16, the Supreme Court had agreed to entertain these pleas, seeking responses from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
Sisodia was arrested by the CBI on February 26, 2023, in connection with alleged irregularities in the formulation and implementation of the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy 2021-22. The ED followed up with his arrest on March 9 of last year, in relation to a money laundering case stemming from the CBI’s initial FIR. After his arrest, Sisodia resigned from the Delhi cabinet on February 28, 2023.
Sisodia’s legal arguments emphasize that the law officer representing the investigating agencies had informed the Supreme Court on June 4 that the charge sheet in the main excise policy case and the prosecution complaint in the linked money laundering case would be filed on or before July 3. However, on June 4, the Supreme Court declined to entertain Sisodia’s bail pleas, stating that he could refile his petitions after the ED and CBI submitted the final prosecution complaint and charge sheet, respectively.
Sisodia had previously challenged the Delhi High Court’s May 21 order dismissing his bail pleas, which stemmed from a trial court’s April 30 order rejecting his bail applications in the two cases. His appeals to the higher courts reflect his ongoing efforts to secure release from detention pending the outcome of the legal proceedings.
