Manish Sisodia, senior Aam Aadmi Party leader and former deputy chief minister of Delhi, filed a petition with the Supreme Court in an effort to overturn a decision by the Delhi High Court that had refused him bail. Sisodia is facing charges framed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) related to Delhi’s new excise policy.
Sisodia had earlier sought bail from court citing his wife’s ill health and his son being abroad. Earlier, Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court ordered the Delhi police to physically produce him on the upcoming hearing date in connection with the case.
Sisodia is accused in cases that concern irregularities in the now-scrapped Delhi Excise Policy. He was arrested on 26 February on allegations of corruption in connection with the formulation and implementation of Delhi’s 2021–22 excise policy. CBI stated, “He (Sisodia) gave evasive replies and did not cooperate in the investigation despite being confronted with evidence to the contrary.”
On 12 April, the ED opposed his bail and informed the Delhi Court that the AAP stalwart was responsible for manufacturing emails indicating widespread support for the policy.
“We have evidence that Sisodia had planted emails. These have been received not only in the official email account of the excise department but even in Sisodia’s personal email account. This is another proof of conspiracy, the content of the email was given by Sisodia which suited his agenda,” ED attorney Zoheb Hossain revealed.
He asserted that the new policy was framed to gain incentives. “Policy making does not happen telepathically. A policy, which is touted to be transparent, and fair, is introduced without any deliberation. An illegal ecosystem was created to give illegal benefits to liquor cartels in lieu of kickbacks,” he added.
The federal investigating agency disclosed that Sisodia altered the excise policy in response to the desires of the “South Group” in exchange for an upfront advance kickback of Rs 100 crore in its remand notice, which was placed before the court on March 10.
The money was allegedly handed over to Vijay Nair, the communicator in charge of the Aam Aadmi Party, at a South Delhi hotel by representatives of the latter. According to the Enforcement Department, he took home Rs 2.2 crores through the scandal.