Delhi excise policy case: In a latest development to the Delhi excise policy case, the Rouse Avenue Court on Monday extended the judicial custody of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia. According to reports, the judicial custody in the CBI and the ED case has been extended till April 27 and 29 respectively.
After the end of his judicial custody on Monday, Sisodia was produced physically before the court from Tihar. Recently, Sisodia was denied bail by special judge MK Nagpal who said he does not merit release on bail at this point in the proceedings as allegations made against him are serious in nature.
The judge also contended that he was arrested in this case only on February 26 and the investigation even about his role has still not been completed, what to say about some other co-accused involved in the case whose roles are also yet being investigated.
What court said?
Further, the court said that the applicant Manish Sisodia does not even satisfy the triple test keeping in view his conduct as reflected by the destruction or non-production of his previous mobile phones of the relevant period and also the apparent role played by him in not producing or missing of the file of one Cabinet Note put up through the then Excise Commissioner Rahul Singh.
There may be serious apprehensions of destruction or tampering of some further evidence and even of influencing of some prime witnesses of this case by him or at his instance, in case he is released on bail by the court, the court added.
According to the CBI, Sisodia had played the most important and vital role in the criminal conspiracy and he had been deeply involved in the formulation as well as the implementation of the said policy to ensure the achievement of the objectives of the said conspiracy.
Meanwhile, on Sunday, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said the CBI asked him around 56 questions on the excise policy case and that he answered them all. Emerging after about nine hours of questioning by the CBI in connection with the now-scrapped excise policy of his government, Kejriwal slammed the BJP saying it wants to finish the AAP “but it will not happen”.
It is alleged that the Delhi government’s excise policy for 2021-22 to grant licences to liquor traders favoured certain dealers who had allegedly paid bribes for it, a charge strongly refuted by the AAP. The policy was later scrapped.
(With inputs from agencies)
