NEW DELHI: A CBI Court on Friday denied bail to former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Manish Sisodia in the money laundering case initiated against him by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in relation to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam.
Reseving the order for April 18th, Special CBI Judge MK Nagpal said the investigation is at such a stage that it doesn’t merit granting bail.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) opposed the application, asserting that the investigation was at a “crucial” stage and that it found fresh evidence of his complicity in the alleged crime. The financial probe agency claimed that Sisodia planted fabricated e-mails to show there was public approval for the policy.
The ED registered separate case alongside accusations levelled by the CBI. It alleged that Sisodia and other members of the AAP connived to grant liquor licenses to certain traders in exchange for bribes. The central agencies’ case is that the excise policy was tweaked and the profit margins were changed in a manner that benefited certain traders and kickbacks were received in exchange for the same.
Earlier, on March 31 the court dismissed Sisodia’s bail application in a corruption case being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), saying he was “prima facie the architect” in the criminal conspiracy behind alleged payment of advance kickbacks of around Rs 90-100 crore meant for him and his colleagues in the Delhi government.
Currently Sisodia’ bail plea in the case is pending before the Delhi High Court. While remanding him to ED custody, the court had observed that Sisodia was instrumental at every state in the formulation and implementation of excise policy and that his arrest in the money laundering case was justified.