Supreme Court To Hear Manish Sisodia’s Appeal For Bail Tomorrow

New Delhi:

Senior Aam Aadmi Paty leader Manish Sisodia’s bail plea will come up for hearing in the Supreme Court tomorrow. Multiple bail pleas of Mr Sisodia — arrested in February in the alleged liquor policy scam — have been turned down by the courts so far.  

On Monday, a bench of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Justice PS Narasimha had agreed to hear his appeal. Mr Sisodia has told the court that his wife is seriously ill and hospitalised and challenged the two High Court orders denying him bail.

Last week, Mr Sisodia had gone to the top court seeking bail in the cases filed against him by the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate.

The former Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi has been named as an accused in the case filed in connection with the Delhi government’s liquor policy of 2021 that was later scrapped. The 51-year-old is facing corruption allegations.

The CBI contends that liquor companies were involved in framing the excise policy, which would have led to a 12 per cent profit for the firms. The agency alleged that a liquor lobby it dubbed the “South Group” had paid kickbacks for it. Of the proposed 12 per cent profit, six per cent was routed to public servants through middlemen, the agency claimed.

The Enforcement Directorate has also launched an investigation, alleging laundering of the kickbacks. After the policy was scrapped, the BJP said the Delhi government went back to the old liquor policy to cover up the corruption.

Mr Sisodia has denied wrongdoing. His party said his arrest is an “attack on the Delhi model of governance”.