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Mahandru was named as a co-accused in the now-defunct liquor excise policy case, along with Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, and others. He was arrested and had been in judicial custody since September 28, 2022. Taking into account the prolonged duration of his custody and the delay in the commencement of the trial, the court granted him bail in September 2024.
The Delhi High Court, on Friday, heard a petition filed by Sameer Mahandru, an accused in the Delhi Liquor Excise Policy Scam case, seeking permission to travel abroad between June 14, 2025, and July 2, 2025.
During the hearing, the counsel representing the State informed the court that he had not yet received instructions from the concerned authorities and, therefore, requested an adjournment. The court noted that, since the proposed travel dates were in June, sufficient time remained for adjudication. Accordingly, it granted the request for adjournment.
The bench of Justice Ravinder Dudeja re-notified the matter for May 15, 2025.
In the course of proceedings, the court also expressed dissatisfaction with the manner in which the application had been filed. It reprimanded Mahandru’s counsel for submitting the application under a petition that had already been disposed of. The counsel responded by stating that the condition sought to be modified had been imposed in the original petition.
The court questioned the repeated filing of applications in a disposed of manner, even if the condition in question formed part of the bail order. The court stated, “How long can you continue filing applications in a disposed of manner, even if condition was in the bail order?”.
Background:
The court, in September 2024, granted bail to Sameer Mahandru for his alleged involvement in the now-defunct liquor excise policy. These observations were made in a petition seeking regular bail on the grounds that “More than 11 months have passed since the dismissal of the first regular Bail Application”.
The court noted a preliminary review of Mahandru’s role in the case indicated that the criteria for establishing guilt in money laundering or potential offenses were weak.
The court, in January 2025, granted Mahandru permission to travel to Dubai along with his wife and daughter to visit his father-in-law, who resides in Dubai. Mahandru sought permission to travel to Dubai between January 8 and January 16, 2025, citing the health condition of his father-in-law.
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