SC Issues Notice To CBI, ED On Manish Sisodia's Bail Plea In Excise Policy Case, Next Hearing On July 29

The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued notices to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) concerning Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Manish Sisodia's petition challenging the Delhi High Court's order of rejecting his bail plea in the excise policy case. A bench comprising Justices BR Gavai, Sanjay Karol, and KV Viswanathan issued the notice and scheduled the next hearing for July 29.

During the hearing, Sisodia's lawyer argued that the former Delhi minister has been incarcerated for 16 months and should be granted bail due to the prolonged duration of his detention. The Supreme Court sought the ED's response to Sisodia's bail plea in the money laundering case linked to the Delhi excise policy. Former Delhi deputy CM Sisodia is seeking bail in the cases filed by the CBI and the ED under the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Prevention of Money Laundering Act respectively, in connection to the alleged liquor policy scam.

Advocate Vivek Jain, representing Sisodia, highlighted the slow progress of the trial. Jain emphasised that the trial has been moving at a "snail's pace" and referenced a previous court order indicating that Sisodia could approach the Supreme Court if the trial progressed slowly.

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Jain argued that Sisodia has been in jail for 16 months with the trial advancing at the same speed as it was in October 2023. Manish Sisodia was first arrested by CBI and ED on February 26 and March 9 last year, respectively.

Sisodia has been in custody since February 26, 2023, as part of the investigation into the Delhi excise policy case conducted by both the CBI and ED. The case involves allegations that Delhi government officials modified the excise policy to benefit certain liquor sellers in exchange for bribes used to fund AAP's election campaign in Goa. Sisodia's previous bail applications have been repeatedly denied. In connection to the same case, AAP supremo and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal is also in custody.

In May, the Delhi High Court upheld a trial court's decision to reject Sisodia's bail plea in both the ED and CBI cases. In June, the Supreme Court also refused to grant him bail in the money laundering case, after the ED assured the court it would file a chargesheet by July 3. The Supreme Court stated that Sisodia could revive his bail plea after the chargesheet was filed. Following the filing of the chargesheet, Sisodia filed the present bail plea.

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Sisodia's initial bail applications were rejected in 2023. His bail plea in the CBI case was denied by a trial court on March 31, 2023, followed by the rejection of his bail application in the ED case on April 28, 2023. Both the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court upheld these trial court decisions later that year. His subsequent bail pleas were also rejected, leading to the current bail application.