Delhi’s Rouse Avenue court on Friday denied bail to former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, who is in judicial custody in a money laundering case pertaining to now-scrapped excise policy scam since February. The court said evidence collected during investigation spoke volumes of Mr. Sisodia’s involvement in commission of the said offence.
Special judge M.K. Nagpal said: “….. This court is not inclined to grant bail to the applicant in this case of economic offences having serious repercussions upon the general public and society at large as the evidence collected during investigation speaks volumes of his involvement in commission of the said offence. Therefore, the present bail application of accused Manish Sisodia is being dismissed.”
The court had earlier dismissed Mr. Sisodia’s bail application in the case lodged by the CBI on March 31, 2023. In the order, it has maintained that Mr. Sisodia was not a flight risk, but this court was of the prima facie view that the possibility of destruction of or tampering with the evidence by him could not be ruled out. In its earlier order, the court also said that as per allegations made by prosecution and the evidence collected in support thereof so far, the applicant can ‘prima facie’ be held to be the architect of the said criminal conspiracy.
“….this court is of the considered opinion that even if the rigors and restrictions contained U/S 45 of the PMLA are viewed and construed reasonably, the prosecution has still been able to show a genuine and prima facie case for involvement of the applicant in commission of the alleged offence of money laundering,” the court added.
Undue favours
The CBI arrested Mr. Sisodia on February 26 in connection with alleged irregularities in the formulation and implementation of the now-scrapped 2021-22 excise policy. The probe agency has alleged that the excise policy was modified to extend undue favours to licence holders; licence fee was waived or reduced; and L-1 (wholesaler) licence was extended without the competent authority’s approval.
As alleged, the then Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) communication and media in-charge Vijay Nair, on behalf of the party leaders, received ₹100 crore as “kickbacks” in advance from a “South Group”, whose prominent entities were YSRCP MP Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy, his son Raghav Magunta, Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) MLC K. Kavitha, and Aurobindo Pharma director P. Sarath Chandra Reddy.
Based on the CBI case, the ED is conducting a money laundering probe and has arrested nine persons. Its chargesheet states that a portion of the alleged kickbacks was diverted through “hawala” channels for the AAP’s campaign in the 2022 Goa Assembly election.
The court had extended Mr. Sisodia’s judicial custody till April 29 in the money laundering case.
The AAP leader’s lawyers pressed for his bail claiming that his custody is no longer required for investigation in the case.
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