ASG SV Raju Raises Objection; Apex Court Adjourns Hearing Of Manish Sisodia's Bail Pleas To August 5
While hearing the pleas of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, by which his bail petitions have been sought to be revived in the excise policy scam cases, before the Supreme Court, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) SV Raju, appearing for CBI and ED, objected to the second Special Leave Petition (SLP) challenging the same impugned order.
While refusing the objection raised by the ASG, the Bench of Justice BR Gavai and Justice KV Viswanathan adjourned the hearing today after noting that the CBI has filed its reply; however, the ED is yet to file its response.
At the outset, ASG Raju, appearing for CBI and ED, submitted, "I will be filling a counter in a day or two, in ED case. I have two preliminary objections; this is the second SLP challenging the same impugned order...One has to go before the trial court first."
Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi appeared for Sisodia and contended, "This is absolutely shocking. It is so sad for a public prosecutor to say that."
On perusal of the Apex Court's June order, the Bench refused to accept the objection raised by the ASG. "Six to eight months were decided; in October 2023, it got over," Justice Gavai said.
Taking note of the submission, the Court scheduled the matter for hearing on August 5 at the end of the fresh matters.
Pertinently, on July 16, the Court had issued notice in the AAP leader's pleas. Earlier, Justice PV Sanjay Kumar had recused from hearing Sisodia's SLP. Pertinently, on June 4, the Court had disposed of Sisodia's bail plea with liberty to revive the prayer after a final complaint/chargesheet is filed in the case.
It is also to be noted that on May 21, the Single-Judge Bench of Delhi High Court had dismissed Sisodia's bail plea in CBI and ED cases related to the Delhi excise policy scam. The Bench of Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma had observed that there has been no delay in the supply of documents or by the Trial Court.
The Court had remarked that "justice hurried may lead to justice buried," as mentioned in the Apex Court's recent judgment in Sunita Devi v. The State of Bihar & Anr. On merits, the Single-Judge Bench opined, "The applicant, Manish Sisodia, was involved in the destruction of mobile phones...was responsible for 18 portfolios...is a senior leader of the Aam Aadmi Party...is an influential person.."
On May 8, the Court had granted ED and CBI more time to file reply in the matter. Earlier, on May 3, the Court had issued notices to the two agencies asking them to file their replies. In the High Court, Sisodia had challenged a Trial Court’s April 30 order in which his bail petitions were dismissed on the ground that the stage was not right for granting bail to Sisodia. The Court had continued the interim relief earlier granted to Sisodia by the trial court to meet his ailing wife once a week in custody during the pendency of the pleas. The Trial Court dismissed Sisodia's bail pleas in the corruption and money-laundering cases lodged by the CBI and ED, respectively, in connection with alleged irregularities in the formulation and execution of the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy for 2021–22.
The beneficiaries diverted "illegal" gains to the accused officials and made false entries in their books of account to evade detection, the probe agencies have alleged. According to the CBI and ED, which are probing the cases against Sisodia, irregularities were committed while modifying the excise policy and undue favours extended to the licence holders.
In the April 30 order, the Special Judge had denied the relief, saying the stage was not right for granting bail to Sisodia. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader was arrested by the CBI on February 26, 2023, for his alleged role in the "scam". The ED had arrested the former Deputy Chief Minister in a money-laundering case stemming from the CBI FIR on March 9, 2023.
Sisodia resigned from the Delhi cabinet on February 28, 2023. The High Court had dismissed Sisodia's bail pleas in the CBI and the ED cases on May 30 and July 3 last year. On October 30, 2023, the Supreme Court refused to interfere with the High Court's order, saying the allegation levelled by the probe agencies that "windfall gains" of Rs 338 crore were made by a few wholesale liquor distributors was "tentatively supported" by material and evidence. The Delhi government implemented the policy on November 17, 2021, but scrapped it at the end of September 2022 amid allegations of corruption.
Cause Title: Manish Sisodia v. Directorate of Enforcement & Another connected matter [SLP (Crl) No. 8781/2024 & SLP (Crl) No. 8772/2024]