Delhi liquorgate: Delhi HC rejects AAP's Manish Sisodia's bail
The Delhi High Court on Tuesday denied bail to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and Delhi's former Deputy Chief Minister, Manish Sisodia, in the alleged Delhi liquor policy scam case. Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma observed that Sisodia is a powerful person and could influence witnesses if released on bail. Sisodia will reportedly move the Supreme Court to challenge the HC's decision.
Why does this story matter?
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested Sisodia in February, accusing him of formulating a rigged liquor policy under which the AAP government waived the licensing fees for a purported Southern liquor cartel in exchange for Rs. 100 crore. The AAP and other opposition parties termed it a misuse of central probe agencies by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to harass political opponents.
Haven't examined excise policy: Delhi HC
"The allegations are very serious in nature. The accused was a public servant... We have not examined the excise policy nor the power of the government. However, the applicant being a powerful person, there is the possibility of him influencing the witnesses," the HC said.
Changing phones doesn't establish culpability: Sisodia
The CBI said that Sisodia had admitted to destroying two mobile phones that he used before July 2022, to which Sisodia's counsel argued that changing phones doesn't establish his culpability. Notably, a day before the 2022 Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) elections—which the AAP won by ousting the BJP—the BJP alleged Sisodia changed four phones per day and 14 times in a month.
Sisodia's judicial remand until Thursday
The Enforcement Directorate (ED), which is probing the alleged money laundering angle in the case, claimed that Sisodia and other accused changed their phones around 170 times from May to August 2022. Based on a supplementary chargesheet filed by the CBI, Delhi's Rouse Avenue Court earlier extended his judicial custody till Thursday. A trial court earlier rejected his bail plea on March 31.
