New Delhi: Former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, arrested in connection with the excise policy 'scam' case, on Thursday urged Delhi High Court to grant him bail and said no evidence has been found to show his involvement in the case and that he is being singled out, news agency PTI reported.
Senior advocate Dayan Krishnan, appearing for Sisodia, argued, “They say that I do not cooperate. This can never be the ground to deny me the bail. I am not required to cooperate, confess, or answer questions in the way they want. I am required to answer in the way I want, that is the constitutional guarantee.”
Senior advocate Mohit Mathur, also appearing for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader, as quoted by Bar and Bench, said, “They make me the chief architect of this alleged conspiracy through Vijay Nair. But Vijay Nair was arrested in September 2022 and released in November, even before the chargesheet is filed. I was only called for questioning for the second time in February 2023. So, all these allegations about my being capable of influencing the witnesses is totally wrong.”
The counsel for the senior AAP leader said Manish Sisodia is not in a position to influence the witnesses in the case or tamper with evidence. He further said that all other accused in the CBI case has been released on bail, except Sisodia. He argued that the figures being cited by the central agency are just on paper and there is no money trail found.
Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma, after hearing the arguments of Sisodia’s lawyers, fixed April 26 for submissions by the CBI counsel.
It is to be noted that the Central Bureau of Investigation had arrested Manish Sisodia on February 26 after several rounds of questioning for his alleged corruption in formulation and implementation of the now-scrapped Delhi Excise Policy.