Delhi excise policy case: In connection with alleged irregularities in the liquor policy, former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia was brought to the Rouse Avenue Court to attend proceedings on Tuesday. According to the information, the court is scheduled to hear rebuttal arguments of Sisodia's lawyer in his bail plea. This comes after the court on Monday extended the judicial custody of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader a. The judicial custody in the CBI and the ED case was extended till April 27 and 29 respectively.
Recently, Sisodia was denied bail by special judge MK Nagpal who said he does not merit release on bail at this point in the proceedings as allegations made against him are serious in nature. The judge also contended that he was arrested in this case only on February 26 and the investigation even about his role has still not been completed, what to say about some other co-accused involved in the case whose roles are also yet being investigated.
Sisodia accused of playing major role in 'criminal conspiracy'
According to the CBI, Sisodia had played the most important and vital role in the "criminal conspiracy" and he had been deeply involved in the formulation as well as the implementation of the said policy to ensure the achievement of the objectives of the said conspiracy.
The payment of advance kickbacks of around Rs 90-100 crores was meant for him and his other colleagues in the GNCTD and Rs 20-30 crores out of the above are found to have been routed through the co-accused Vijay Nair, Abhishek Boinpally and approver Dinesh Arora.
Further, in turn, certain provisions of the excise policy were permitted to be tweaked and manipulated by the applicant to protect and preserve the interests of the South liquor lobby and to ensure repayment of the kickbacks to the said lobby, noted the court.
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What did Rouse Avenue Court say?
Earlier, the Rouse Avenue Court, while sending Sisodia to CBI remand, directed that the interrogation of the accused during the remand period shall be conducted at some place having CCTV coverage, in accordance with guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court and the said footage shall be preserved by the CBI.
Sisodia was arrested by CBI and ED in an ongoing investigation of a case related to alleged irregularities in the framing and implementation of the excise policy of the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. It is alleged that the Delhi government's excise policy for 2021-22 to grant licences to liquor traders favoured certain dealers who had allegedly paid bribes for it, a charge strongly refuted by the AAP. The policy was later scrapped.
(With ANI inputs)
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