The Delhi High Court on Tuesday rejected the bail plea moved by the former Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia in the ED and CBI cases in the alleged Delhi Liquor Policy scam. The high court while rejecting his bail plea observed that Sisodia fabricated and manufactured public opinion to suit his goal and subverted the process of making the excise policy by deviating from the expert committee report constituted by him. The court made scathing observations and said that Sisodia betrayed betrayed democratic principles by breaking public's trust.
The court took a view that Sisodia breached the public's trust and misused his powers as the Minister in the Delhi government in drafting of the now scrapped Delhi Excise policy.
Supreme Court Order Does Not Restricts High Court From Hearing Case On Merits
A bench of Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma while pronouncing the verdict said that the high court can apply its own mind to decide the bail on merits in addition to the condition of "delay in trial" imposed by the Supreme Court's order in October 2023. In the last hearing, the ED and CBI argued on merits of the case while Manish Sisodia's counsel restricted his arguments to delay in trial and Supreme Court's observation stating that Sisodia can move fresh bail plea if the trial proceeds at snail's pace.
"The Supreme Court order does not restrict this court and trial court on considering the bail plea on merits of the case with additional consideration of delay in the trial." the judge said.
Manish Sisodia Did Not Cause Delay, Trial Court Observation Unjustified
The high court also held that the observation made by the trial court saying that the delay in the case was actually caused by Sisodia and other co-accused in a concerted effort is not justified. The judge also said that there is also no delay by ED, CBI or trial court in the time taken in investigating this case.
Manish Sisodia Fabricated Public Feedback
While pronouncing the verdict the high court also took a prima facie view and said that Sisodia manufactured and fabricated feedback from the public to draft the now scrapped Delhi Excise Policy which was actually intended to benefit members of the south group. The bench also observed that he misused his powers as the Delhi Minister to manipulate the policy as he wished.
The high court termed Sisodia's actions in framing Delhi Liquor Policy a great betrayal of democratic principles.
The court rejected the bail plea and said that the ED and CBI have made a prima facie case of money laundering against him.
Noting that Sisodia is a powerful figure and former deputy chief minister of Delhi, the court held that he is capable of tampering evidence and witnesses if given bail.
The court however allowed Sisodia to continue to meet his wife in accordance with an earlier court order. However the court did not grant him interim bail on the grounds that he is the sole caretaker of his wife.
Arguments In Court
Last week, the court concluded hearing submissions made by Sisodia's lawyers and counsels appearing for ED and CBI and reserved verdict. In the last hearing, Sisodia's counsel submitted that the ED and the CBI are still arresting people in the money laundering and corruption case and there is no question of early conclusion of the trial as the trial has not even started.
It may be recalled that the Supreme Court while rejecting Sisodia’s bail in October 2023 had said that he can move a fresh bail application before the trial court if the trial is protracted and proceeds at a “snail’s pace” in the next three months.
ED however contended that the Supreme Court judgement says that delay in trial is just one factor to be considered while granting bail and the court can hear the case on merits.
Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma of Delhi High Court said that ED and Manish Sisodia's counsel are reading the Supreme Court verdict in a way that benefits them. She said, "You are reading it from the left while they are reading from the right."
In the same hearing the ED had told the Delhi High Court that it will make the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) an accused in the money laundering case in the alleged Delhi Liquor policy scam in its next chargesheet.
Manish Sisodia's lawyers concluded arguments and tore into the trial court order that rejected his regular and interim bail petitions. The AAP leader's lawyer questioned the observations made by the trial court stating that Manish Sisodia along with other accused in the Delhi Liquor Policy case made concerted efforts to delay the trial. Today the high court held that the trial court was not justified in making such an observation.
The trial court judge Justice Kaveri Baweja had rejected Sisodia regular and interim bail pleas and observed, Sisodia individually, and along with different accused has been filing one or the other application/making oral submissions frequently, some of them frivolous, that too on a piecemeal basis, apparently as a concerted effort for accomplishing the shared purpose of causing delay in the matter.
The trial court further said that there has been steady progression of the case, despite the apparent attempts to slow down its progress, and its progress cannot by any standard be compared to snail's pace.
Manish Sisodia was arrested in February 2023. The former Deputy Delhi Chief minister has remained in judicial custody since