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Synopsis

In the bail plea filed by former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister and AAP leader Manish Sisodia in connection with the Delhi excise policy scam case registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Additional Solicitor General (ASG) SV Raju contended before the Delhi High Court on Thursday that “the change from 5% to 12% in the interest rate was made to get the kickback money. He (Sisodia) made the policy in such a way that guaranteed return in form of kickbacks comes”.

Opposing the bail plea, ASG Raju, on behalf of the CBI submitted before the bench of Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma that, “Sisodia concealed the legal expert's opinion given by eminent personalities as well. He hadn't mentioned it anywhere. It was ignored completely. They (members of AAP) did not include it in the policy”.

The ASG submitted that there was a draft note prepared by one Rahul Singh (who succeeded Ravi Dhawan) on the instance of Manish Sisodia, which can be proved with their WhatsApp chats. “The original is missing. Only a part of the draft has been retrieved from the phones”, he added.

Taking note of the submissions, the single-judge bench adjourned the matter to May 10, 2023, for further submissions of the ASG.

On the last hearing, the ASG had submitted that Sisodia’s case is not of approval, his case is only of apprising the Lieutenant Governor (LG). “Our submission is there was no approval from the LG on the Excise Policy”, he had said.

“Manish Sisodia and his colleagues wanted kickbacks, they wanted to change the policy. To get that they wanted private players as wholesalers. When they saw Ravi Dhawan Committee's suggestion, they (Aam Aadmi Party) understood they'll not be able to get kickbacks, they'll not be able to make money”, the ASG had contended.

He had argued, “The committee in its report had stated that by lottery system it will be purely on the basis of luck. It was not in favor of private players being involved. This was not in their favor. Sisodia did not like the report of the committee!”

The ASG had referred to the statement of Ravi Dhawan (the then Excise Commissioner), wherein he stated, “The CM (Arvind Kejriwal) and Deputy CM (Sisodia) wanted me to look into the Punjab Policy, I was not in favor".

Furthermore, the ASG had contended, “Even public opinion was manipulated, by them (Aam Aadmi Party). Sisodia manufactured "fake public opinions" through emails.”

Notably, yesterday, Sisodia moved an ‘interim bail plea’ citing his wife’s medical condition in the case registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with the Delhi excise policy scam.

Background:

Sisodia’s bail plea in the CBI case was 'dismissed' by Special Judge MK Nagpal of Rouse Avenue Court, Delhi on March 31. While rejecting the bail plea, the court had stated that Sisodia played "the most important and vital role" in the criminal conspiracy, and he had been "deeply involved" in the formulation and implementation of the said policy. The court had reserved orders in the case on March 24.

Earlier, on February 28, a CJI DY Chandrachud-led bench of the Supreme Court dismissed former Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi, Manish Sisodia's plea challenging his arrest by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in an alleged case of corruption relating to liquor excise policy. The bench also comprising Justice PS Narasimha had held that "other efficacious remedies were available" to Sisodia.

It is CBI's case that there were alleged irregularities in the framing and implementation of the excise policy for the year 2021-22.  On February 26, the CBI commenced a second round of questioning after Sisodia was earlier questioned on October 17 last year. Chargesheet in the matter was filed on November 25, 2022.

Case Title: Manish Sisodia v. Central Bureau of Investigation

Statue: The Code of Criminal Procedure