Excise policy case: Delhi HC seeks CBI's response to bail plea of Sisodia

The Delhi High Court on Thursday sought the CBI's response to jailed former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia's bail plea in the excise policy scam case being probed by the CBI.

Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma issued a notice on the senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader's plea, which claimed he is "totally innocent" and a "victim of political witch-hunt", and asked the agency to state its stand.

"Issue notice. Let reply be filed," the judge said.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had arrested Sisodia for alleged corruption in the formulation and implementation of the now-scrapped Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22 on February 26 following several rounds of questioning.

On March 31, a trial court here had dismissed Sisodia's bail plea in the matter, saying he was "prima facie the architect" and had played the "most important and vital role" in the criminal conspiracy related to alleged payment of advance kickbacks of Rs 90-100 crore meant for him and his colleagues in the Delhi government.

Before the high court, senior advocates Dayan Krishnan and Mohit Mathur, appearing for Sisodia, challenged the trial court's decision and pointed out the other accused in the case were either not arrested or have been granted bail.

"This is a plea for regular bail. Everyone except me is granted bail," Krishnan submitted.

Lawyer Anupam S Sharma appeared for the CBI and sought time from the court to file a reply.

The court granted two weeks to the probe agency to file its response.

In his plea filed before the court, Sisodia said there is no material to show his involvement in the offences alleged in the FIR and he has never received or ever gained any undue advantage.

"The Applicant is totally innocent, who is a highly respected citizen and he has highest respect for the law. The Applicant is a victim of political witch-hunt, which has led to his arrest by the Respondent on account of ulterior motive to drag the reputation of the Applicant through the mud," said the plea.

The petition said the excise policy was the "collective responsibility" of the Cabinet and it was implemented after being drafted by the excise department. It was duly approved and Sisodia cannot be held criminally liable for the collective decision of the Cabinet, the excise department, finance department, planning department, the law department and the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi.

"The GoM was only tasked with giving its report and suggestion to the cabinet and the policy had to be ultimately accepted by the Cabinet and various departments of Govt. of NCT of Delhi," it said.

"Departments of Finance, Planning and Law were headed by the respective Secretaries who are working under the control and authority of the Hon'ble LG of NCT of Delhi... all the officers who granted the Approvals report to the Hon'ble LG of NCT of Delhi, and not the Applicant. That with so many approvals to policy at various levels of Govt. including various Departments of Delhi and Hon'ble LG of NCT of Delhi- the Applicant cannot be made liable for same," added the plea.

The petition said the trial court has erred in terming Sisodia as the "main architect" of the alleged conspiracy and he is in no position to influence the witnesses or tamper with evidence.

It claimed the witnesses are primarily civil servants, over whom the accused exercises no control, especially now since he has resigned his official post.

Sisodia has already been interrogated for the purposes of investigation and his continued incarceration is not required, the plea stated.

"There is absolutely no chance of the Applicant fleeing away from the jurisdiction of this Hon'ble Court as the Applicant is a former minister in the Government of NCT Delhi and an MLA from Patpargunj, NCT of Delhi. That the Applicant has deep roots in society and is a valued leader in his constituency," it submitted.

The plea also said the arrest has caused irreparable damage to Sisodia's reputation which cannot be compensated even in monetary terms.

While refusing to give relief to Sisodia, special CBI Judge M K Nagpal had said, "The payment of advance kickbacks of around Rs 90-100 crore was meant for him and his other colleagues in the GNCTD and Rs 20-30 crore out of the above are found to have been routed through the co-accused Vijay Nair, Abhishek Boinpally and approver Dinesh Arora."

"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 South liquor lobby and to ensure repayment of the kickbacks to the said lobby," it had said.

The trial court had also said Sisodia's "release may adversely affect the ongoing investigation and will also seriously hamper the progress thereof".

The high court will again hear the matter on April 20.