09 August,2024 01:22 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Manish Sisodia. Pic/PTI
The Supreme Court on Friday granted bail to senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Manish Sisodia in the corruption and money laundering cases linked to the alleged Delhi liquor policy case.
The Supreme Court gave bail to Sisodia, who has been in jail for 17 months, sharply pulling up the lower courts and saying his long incarceration without trial had deprived him of the right to speedy justice.
The former Delhi deputy chief minister was arrested by both the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in corruption and money laundering cases linked to the Delhi liquor policy case.
With the apex court granting him bail in both cases, Sisodia is likely to come out of jail today after furnishing a bail bond of Rs 10 lakh along with two sureties of a like amount.
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Listing the conditions for his bail, the judges said he would have to surrender his passport to the special trial court and not make any attempt to either influence witnesses or tamper with evidence. Besides, he will have to report to the investigating officer every Monday and Thursday between 10-11 am.
Sisodia had sought bail contending that he has been in custody for 17 months and the trial against him has not yet started. The ED and the CBI had opposed his bail pleas. He was nabbed by the CBI on February 26, 2023, for purported irregularities in the formulation and implementation of the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy 2021-22.
The following month, the ED arrested him in the money laundering case stemming from the CBI FIR on March 9, 2023. He resigned from the Delhi cabinet on February 28, 2023.
Here's a timeline of events to Manish Sisodia's legal battle:
November 2021: Delhi government introduces a new excise policy
July 2022: Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena recommends a CBI probe into alleged irregularities in the formulation and implementation of the policy
August 2022: CBI and ED register cases in connection with alleged irregularities
August 2022: CBI raids the residence of then Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia as well as others
September 2022: Delhi government scraps the excise policy
October 2022: Manish Sisodia interrogated by the CBI for over eight hours
February 2023: CBI summons Sisodia
February 26, 2023: Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrests Sisodia for his alleged role in the Delhi excise policy "scam".
March 9: Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrests Sisodia in a money-laundering case stemming from the CBI's FIR.
March 31: Trial court rejects Sisodia's bail plea in the CBI's corruption case.
April 28: Trial court dismisses Sisodia's bail plea in the money-laundering case.
May 30: Delhi High Court rejects Sisodia's bail plea in the CBI case.
July 3: Delhi High Court junks Sisodia's bail plea in the money-laundering case.
July 6: Sisodia files bail pleas in both cases in Supreme Court.
October 30: Supreme Court denies relief to Sisodia.
April 30, 2024: Trial court again refuses to grant bail to Sisodia.
May 2: Sisodia moves Delhi High Court seeking bail in both corruption and money laundering cases.
May 21: Delhi High Court denies bail to Sisodia.
July 16: Supreme Court agrees to hear Sisodia's pleas seeking bail, and seeks responses from the CBI and the ED.
August 6: Supreme Court reserves verdict on Sisodia's bail pleas in both cases.
August 9: Supreme Court grants bail to Sisodia.
What is the Delhi liquor policy case?
In November 2021, the Delhi government, under Arvind Kejriwal's leadership, introduced a new excise policy aimed at modernising alcohol sales in the city. However, this move received mixed reviews, with some applauding its progressive approach while others raised concerns about its potential financial and public health implications.
The Delhi government implemented the policy on November 17, 2021, but scrapped it at the end of September 2022 amid allegations of corruption.
In July 2022, Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena recommended a CBI investigation into Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22 after the Delhi chief secretary reported violations in the policy. The excise department was headed by Manish Sisodia. Following this, the ED and CBI had registered cases alleging that irregularities were committed while modifying the Excise Policy.
The Lieutenant Governor reportedly found substantive indications of "financial quid pro quo" at the top political level. Sisodia was accused of undue financial favours to the liquor licensees much after the tenders had been awarded and thus caused huge losses to the exchequer.
