On 19th October, Manish Sisodia, the former deputy chief minister of Delhi, has had his judicial custody in the liquor scam case extended until 22nd November by a Delhi court.
Earlier on 17th October, the Supreme Court told the Enforcement Directorate that if the bribe that was allegedly paid for tweaking the Delhi excise policy is not part of a predicate offence, then it will be difficult for the federal probe agency to prove the charge of money laundering against former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia.
Manish Sisodia, one of the founding members of AAP, was arrested in the money laundering case following the First Information Report (FIR) registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on 9th March after interrogating him in Tihar Jail.
The CBI had apprehended Manish Sisodia on 26th February in connection with his suspected involvement in the scam and he has been imprisoned ever since. He resigned from the Delhi cabinet on 28th February.
The liquor policy for 2021-22 was put into effect by the Delhi administration on 17th November 2021, however, it was cancelled at the end of September 2022 due to accusations of corruption. The investigating authorities assert that under the new plan of action, for financial reasons. According to the agencies, the new regulation led to monopolisation and gave economic advantages to people who weren’t eligible for liquor licenses.
On the other hand, Manish Sisodia and the Delhi administration have denied any wrongdoing and claimed that the new policy would have increased the state’s excise revenue.
