SC Grants Bail to AAP Leader Manish Sisodia in Delhi Excise Policy Scam Case

GG News Bureau
New Delhi, 9th August. The Supreme Court on Friday granted bail to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Manish Sisodia in connection with the corruption and money laundering cases linked to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam. The apex court noted that Sisodia has been in custody for 17 months, and the trial has yet to commence, raising concerns about his right to a speedy trial.

The decision was delivered by a bench comprising Justices B R Gavai and K V Viswanathan, who emphasized that it would be a “travesty of justice” to send Sisodia back to the trial court for bail in these cases. The bench underscored the principle that bail should be the rule, with jail being the exception, urging trial courts and high courts to recognize this principle more broadly.

The Supreme Court directed that Sisodia be released on bail, requiring a personal bond of Rs 10 lakh along with two sureties of the same amount.

Manish Sisodia, who previously served as the Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi, was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on February 26, 2023, for alleged irregularities in the formulation and implementation of the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy for 2021-22. Following this, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) took him into custody on March 9, 2023, on charges of money laundering stemming from the CBI’s initial case.

Sisodia resigned from his position in the Delhi cabinet on February 28, 2023. He had sought bail on the grounds that he had already spent 17 months in custody without the trial against him commencing. However, both the ED and the CBI had opposed his bail pleas.