Manish Sisodia moves SC seeking review of order denying him bail

Former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia has moved the Supreme Court seeking a review of its order denying him bail in the corruption and money laundering cases related to the alleged Delhi excise policy scamThe top court had on October 30 refused to grant him bail saying the accusation against him of facilitating windfall gains of Rs 338 crore to wholesale liquor dealers was tentatively supported by evidenceA bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and SVN Bhatti which termed several charges levelled by the Enforcement Directorate ED against Sisodia as debatable had said However there is one clear ground or charge in the complaint filed under the PML Act which is free from perceptible legal challenge and the facts as alleged are tentatively supported by material and evidenceIt had referred to the CBIs charge sheet which said the excess amount of 7 per cent commissionfee earned by wholesale distributors of Rs 338 crore constitutes an offence as defined under section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act which relates to a public servant being bribedThe bench said as per the EDs complaint the amount of Rs 338 crore constituted the proceeds of crimeThis amount was earned by the wholesale distributors in a span of ten months This figure cannot be disputed or challenged Thus the new excise policy was meant to give windfall gains to select few wholesale distributors who in turn had agreed to give kickbacks and bribes the bench had noted from the CBIs charge sheet adding the conspiracy and involvement of the appellant Manish Sisodia is well establishedAbout alleged middleman Dinesh Aroras claim of Rs 220 crore bribe paid to Sisodia the bench had said it is not a charge or an allegation made in the charge sheet filed by the CBI and it may be difficult to regard the alleged payment as a proceed of crime under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act PMLASisodia was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation CBI on February 26 for his alleged role in the scam The AAP leader has been in custody since thenThe ED arrested Sisodia in a moneylaundering case stemming from the CBI FIR on March 9 after questioning him in Tihar jail Sisodia who held the excise portfolio resigned from the Delhi cabinet on February 28The Delhi government had implemented the policy on November 17 2021 but scrapped it at the end of September 2022 amid allegations of corruptionAccording to the investigating agencies the profit margins of wholesalers were arbitrarily increased from 5 per cent to 12 per cent under the new policyThe agencies have alleged that the new policy resulted in cartelisation and those ineligible for liquor licences were favoured for monetary benefits However the Delhi government and Sisodia have denied any wrongdoing and said the new policy would have led to an increase in revenueThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever