Excise Policy: Supreme Court Grants Bail to Manish Sisodia in Both ED and CBI Cases

The Supreme Court granted bail to former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia in connection with the Delhi excise policy case.

A bench of Justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan stated that it would be a “travesty of justice” to relegate him to the trial court for seeking bail in these cases.

The court directed Sisodia to furnish a bail bond of ₹10 lakh with two sureties, surrender his passport, and report twice a week on Mondays and Thursdays to the Investigating Officer.

It also instructed that he must not attempt to influence witnesses or tamper with evidence. The apex court had reserved its order in the case on August 6.

The bench also refused to accept the ED’s request to restrict Manish Sisodia from visiting the Delhi Secretariat or the Chief Minister’s office, as was done in the case of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal when he was granted interim bail to campaign for the Lok Sabha elections.

The CBI and ED had argued that the petition was not maintainable as Sisodia was required to first approach the trial court.

This was the third time Sisodia had approached the Supreme Court for bail. Last year, on October 30, the court refused to grant him bail but allowed him to revive his bail plea if the trial failed to conclude within the next six to eight months or proceeded at a snail’s pace.

As the trial failed to begin within six months, Manish Sisodia sought bail on the grounds of delay, but the Delhi High Court rejected his plea on May 21.

He approached the Supreme Court in June when the ED informed a vacation bench that it would be filing its complaint (or charge sheet) by July 3. Recording this submission, the court refused to delve into the merits of the petition.

Last month, Sisodia then filed his third plea for bail, taking a second shot against the High Court order of May 21.

What Is the Case Against Manish Sisodia?

Manish Sisodia was arrested in February 2023 by the CBI, followed by the ED a month later, after a case was registered based on a complaint by Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena in July 2022, alleging irregularities in the excise policy.

Besides Sisodia, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and AAP MP Sanjay Singh have also been arrested in connection with the ED probe. While Singh is out on bail, the Delhi CM is in judicial custody and is lodged in Tihar Jail.

In the First Information Report (FIR) filed by the CBI, Sisodia is accused of being “instrumental in recommending and making decisions related to the excise policy for the year 2021-22 without the approval of the competent authority, with the intention of extending undue favours to the licensee post-tender.”

Meanwhile, in the case filed by the ED, Sisodia is accused of using kickbacks received from the excise policy to fund the Aam Aadmi Party’s 2022 Punjab election campaign.

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