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Synopsis

Former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party Leader Manish Sisodia on Wednesday “withdrew” interim bail pleas filed by him before the Delhi High Court in the Delhi excise policy scam case to take care of his ailing wife.

The bench of Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma ordered, “Noting that the condition of the petitioner’s wife has improved and is stable, the interim applications are dismissed as withdrawn”.

Notably, on May 11, the single-judge bench directed the Jail Superintendent of Tihar Jail to ensure video conference meetings of AAP leader Manish Sisodia with his wife every alternate day as per jail rules till the disposal of his bail application.

The court had ordered, “The superintendent of jail to ensure VC meetings [of Manish Sisodia] with his wife on every alternate day between 3 to 4 pm till disposal of the bail application as per Jail Rules”.

Earlier, on April 4, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) SV Raju appearing for CBI had opposed Sisodia's interim bail plea, and contended, “There is suppression of relevant facts and misleading statements have been made in the application for temporary bail. On a limited ground, it has to go, and in any case, he (Sisodia) should go before the trial court first”.

Pointing out the misleading statements made by Sisodia in the interim bail application, Raju had submitted that the application was filed on May 2. Referring to the discharge memo of the hospital, he had contended, “The condition of the applicant’s wife has worsened recently, she has suffered an acute attack of multiple sclerosis. She was hospitalized on April 25”.

“His (Sisodia’s) wife has been discharged from the hospital on April 27, much prior to them filing this application. The tenor is that she is hospitalized. They have not said that she has been discharged from the hospital. They have suppressed the fact that the wife was discharged. Let them point out from the application where they have said that the wife has been discharged and her condition has improved, on the contrary, they have stated it has worsened. This is deliberate”, the ASG had argued.

Opposing the plea, Raju had said, “They cleverly and shrewdly, with a view to mislead the court, file an application on May 2 suppressing the fact that the wife was discharged.  They were aware that either we would find this out or we won’t find this out. If we don’t find it out, this court would have been under the impression that the wife is in the hospital and an order would have been passed on that basis….This is a clear case of overreaching the court. They have concealed a vital fact while seeking bail on medical grounds…The application is drafted 6-7 days after the wife is discharged. Discharge note says she has improved”.

It is to be noted that Sisodia is currently in judicial custody in ED and CBI cases in connection with the Delhi excise policy scam case.

Case Title: Manish Sisodia v. CBI and Manish Sisodia v. ED