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Synopsis

The Delhi High Court, on December 2, sought the Directorate of Enforcement’s reply in a plea filed by Manish Sisodia challenging the cognizance of the chargesheet taken by the trial court without obtaining prior sanction to prosecute for his involvement in money laundering concerning the now defunct liquor excise policy. 

The bench of Justice Manoj Kumar Ohri listed the matter for December 20, 2024. 

Notably, the Supreme Court recently held that a prior sanction would be required for the prosecution of public servants even in cases of money laundering lodged against them in the discharge of their official duty. 

Background: 
In November 2024, Manish Sisodia approached the Supreme Court seeking relaxation of his bail conditions. In August, the SC granted him bail after 17 months in custody.  The trial court and the high court had previously denied bail to Sisodia in both the ED and CBI cases. 

The CBI initially arrested Manish Sisodia on February 26 and the ED on March 9 of the previous year. The CBI accused Sisodia and others of making decisions regarding the 2021-22 excise policy without proper authority, intending to favor the licensee post-tender. The agency alleged that Sisodia's arrest was due to his evasive responses and lack of cooperation during the investigation.

The ED alleged that the excise policy was part of a conspiracy to grant certain private companies a 12 percent profit in the wholesale business, not documented in the Group of Ministers' meeting minutes. The agency claimed that a conspiracy, coordinated by Vijay Nair and others with the South Group, aimed to provide extraordinary profit margins to wholesalers. Nair allegedly acted on behalf of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia.