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Informist, Friday, Aug 9, 2024

 

--SC grants bail to AAP's Manish Sisodia in Delhi liquor policy case 

--CONTEXT: Sisodia sought bail in CBI, Enforcement agency's cases 

 

NEW DELHI – The Supreme Court today granted bail to former Delhi deputy chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party leader Manish Sisodia in cases related to the liquor policy scam filed by the Enforcement Directorate and the Central Bureau of Investigation. The top court asked Sisodia, who is free to walk out of jail now, to surrender his passport and report to the investigating officer every Monday and Thursday.

 

The court refused the Enforcement Directorate's request to put conditions on Sisodia just like it did on Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal while granting the latter interim bail in the same case. The enforcement body had sought conditions such as not allowing Sisodia to visit the chief minister's office and the Delhi secretariat. 

 

The Bench of Justices B.R. Gavai and K.V. Viswanathan rejected the trial court's contention that Sisodia was filing applications to delay the case one way or another. Though several applications have been filed by the others accused in the matter, Sisodia has filed only 13 applications in the CBI case and 14 applications in the Enforcement Directorate's case, the court noted. "When we asked ASG (Additional Solicitor General S.V. Raju) to show any application which was noted as frivolous by the trial court, it was not shown. Thus, the observation by the trial court that Sisodia has delayed trial is incorrect and rejected," it said.

 

The Bench said Sisodia cannot be denied the right to inspect documents, including unrelied-upon documents. The court said that Enforcement Directorate's counsel Raju's statements were self-contradictory. "If the investigation was to conclude by Jul 3, how could the trial commence before that? There is no question of trial being concluded in 8 months of 1st order (of rejecting Sisodia's bail)," the court said.

 

The top court said Sisodia already suffered an incarceration of 17 months, while being deprived of the right to a speedy trial. It added that Article 21 of the Indian Constitution relating to right to life applies irrespective of the nature of a crime. "High courts and trial courts are playing safe in matters of bail and bail cannot be denied as a matter of punishment...It is high time the courts realise that bail is a rule and jail is an exception," said the court.

 

The Bench said it was granting bail as there was no remote possibility of the trial being completed in time and keeping Sisodia behind bars till its completion is nothing but a violation of Article 21 of the Constitution. "In this case, 493 witnesses were named. There is not the remotest possibility that trial will conclude in recent future," said the court. Keeping Sisodia behind bars for unlimited time will deny his fundamental rights, it added.

 

The apex court said that Sisodia has deep roots in society and there was no apprehension of him fleeing away, but conditions can be imposed upon Sisodia by the agencies. Regarding tampering of evidence, the court said that most of it was in the form of documents that are already in possession of the probe agencies. 

 

The case pertains to the Delhi government's new excise policy which was announced in November 2021. It allowed private companies to distribute liquor in the national capital. The policy was later withdrawn following allegations of cartelisation and monopoly.  

 

The CBI had filed a chargesheet against Sisodia under sections of the Indian Penal Code relating to cheating and criminal conspiracy and sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act. The Enforcement Directorate, which is probing the money-laundering angle in the case, had filed a chargesheet naming Sisodia as the "main accused".

 

The investigating agencies alleged that Sisodia made changes to the policy without the approval of Delhi's lieutenant governor. The lieutenant governor referred the matter to the CBI, which then filed a first information report. The CBI arrested Sisodia on Feb 26, 2023. On Mar 9, 2023, the Enforcement Directorate also arrested Sisodia after questioning him inside Tihar Jail.

 

In March, the top court had dismissed curative petitions filed by Sisodia against denial of bail in the case. The current bail petitions in the apex court constituted the second round of litigation by Sisodia seeking bail.  

 

On Jun 4, the apex court had refused bail to Sisodia and gave the AAP leader the liberty to revive his petition after the probe agencies filed the final chargesheets in the case. Thereafter, Sisodia had again moved the top court for bail. On Jul 16, Advocate Vivek Jain, appearing for Sisodia, had said the trial in the liquor policy case was going at "snail's pace". He said Sisodia had been inside the jail then for 16 to 17 months and the trial was going at the same speed as it was in October 2023.  End 

 

Reported by Surya Tripathi

Edited by Tanima Banerjee

 

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