Delhi court dismisses Sisodia's regular bail pleas in excise policy cases by CBI and ED

A Delhi court on Tuesday denied regular bail to AAP leader and former Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi, Manish Sisodia in the money laundering case related to the alleged excise policy scam.

Manish Sisodia had sought bail in cases being probed by both the central agencies, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

Before the court of Special Judge Kaveri Baweja, prosecutor Pankaj Gupta for the CBI had last time said that Sisodia does not satisfy the rigours of grant of bail under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Claiming that the AAP leader has political clout, the prosecutor had said that he was influential and also not entitled to parity.

The central probe agency accused Sisodia of being a main accused in the case and said that he might tamper with the evidence of the probe, which is at a nascent stage on certain key aspects.

Arguing that he hasn't gotten bail from the High Court and the Supreme Court earlier, Gupta had said that if he gets bail now, when the probe is at a nascent stage, it will solve his motive.

Sisodia's bail application has been pending since February. Recently, his judicial custody was also extended in both the cases.

Earlier, the ED had contended that Sisodia and the other accused persons were delaying the trial in the case. Citing the bail granted to another accused, Benoy Babu, Sisodia's counsel Mohit Mathur had argued for bail, saying that he no longer holds a position of influence.

He had also stressed that Sisodia met the triple test for bail, as outlined by the Supreme Court, and urged for a speedy trial.

Mathur further said that Sisodia's eligibility for bail is established, given the fulfilment of all necessary conditions and the absence of any misuse of liberties, as per the Supreme Court's guidelines.