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Synopsis

The Supreme Court has dismissed a curative petition by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and former Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi, Manish Sisodia, seeking bail in the controversial Delhi Excise Policy scam case.

The bench, led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, and also comprising Justice Sanjiv Khanna, Justice BR Gavai, and Justice SVN Bhatti, found no merit in the curative petitions filed by Sisodia.

The curative petitions, challenged the previous decisions made by the apex court. However, the bench concluded that "no case is made out within the parameters indicated in the decision of this Court in Rupa Ashok Hurra vs Ashok Hurra," dismissing the appeals without room for further debate.

This recent dismissal follows a series of legal setbacks for Sisodia, who has been entangled in allegations of corruption and money laundering linked to the framing and implementation of Delhi's excise policy.

The Supreme Court, through an order dated October 30 last year, which was delivered by a bench comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna and SVN Bhatti, had already set a negative precedent by denying Sisodia's initial bail requests in both the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED) cases.

Sisodia is accused of orchestrating a scheme that resulted in “windfall gains” exceeding 300 crore rupees for wholesale liquor dealers. In a quid pro quo arrangement, these dealers allegedly reciprocated by providing kickbacks and bribes, a claim that the court found was tentatively supported by the evidence presented. This policy, implemented in November 2021, was later scrapped in September 2022 amidst burgeoning allegations of corruption. Sisodia was arrested by the CBI on February 26, 2023, and has since been in custody.

The court’s examination went beyond the initial accusations, taking into consideration the specific amount of 338 crores, which, as claimed by the Enforcement Directorate, represented the proceeds of the crime under investigation.

The court also referred to the chargesheet filed by the CBI, which alleged that the excess commission or fee earned by wholesale distributors constituted an offence under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Subsequently, on December 13, the same bench dismissed Sisodia's review petitions. The court maintained their stance, reiterating the serious nature of the allegations and the evidence presented against him.

The filing of the curative petitions came as a direct response to the Supreme Court's rejection of the review petitions previously submitted. In a related legal development, the trial court recently postponed its review of Manish Sisodia's latest bail requests, awaiting the consideration of the curative petitions by the Supreme Court.

With this, Sisodia’s last judicial resort before the apex court, is now exhausted.