The Supreme Court is scheduled to deliver its verdict on Friday regarding Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Manish Sisodia’s bail pleas in connection with corruption and money laundering cases related to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam.
According to the cause list on the Supreme Court’s website, the bench comprising Justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan will announce the verdict on Thursday. The bench had reserved its judgment on Sisodia’s pleas on August 6.
Sisodia was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on February 26, 2023, for alleged irregularities in the formulation and implementation of the now-defunct Delhi excise policy 2021-22. He was subsequently arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case linked to the CBI FIR on March 9, 2023.
Sisodia is seeking bail, arguing that he has been in custody for 17 months without the trial commencing. Both the ED and the CBI have opposed his bail applications.
During the proceedings, the Supreme Court questioned the CBI and ED about the anticipated timeline for concluding the trials, given that there are 493 witnesses across both cases. The law officer representing the probe agencies mentioned that there are eight key witnesses in each case and disputed Sisodia’s claim that delays were due to the agencies.
On July 16, the Supreme Court agreed to hear Sisodia’s pleas and requested responses from the CBI and ED. Sisodia had previously appealed to the Supreme Court challenging the Delhi High Court’s May 21 order, which dismissed his bail applications. He had also contested a trial court’s April 30 order rejecting his bail pleas.
Sisodia, a former deputy chief minister and education minister of Delhi, resigned from the Delhi cabinet on February 28, 2023.
