look news india
A Delhi court on Tuesday booked the Aam Aadmi Party leader in a money laundering case related to the excise policy. Manish Sisodia was refused bail.
Special CBI judge Kaveri Baweja at the Rouse Avenue court rejected the former deputy chief minister's bail for the second time in both the ED and CBI cases. At present, Sisodia is in judicial custody – in Tihar jail – in both the cases.
AAP said Sisodia will approach the high court against the Delhi court order rejecting his bail pleas.
His bail plea was rejected after Judge Baweja reserved judgment on the applications on April 20. The AAP leader had also filed interim bail petitions in both the cases to campaign for the Lok Sabha elections. However, Sisodia's counsel told the court that the plea had become moot as the regular bail plea was reserved.
Sisodia was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation on February 26, 2023, for his alleged role in the “scam”. Then the AAP leader resigned from the Delhi Cabinet on 28 February.
On March 9, 2023, the ED arrested the former Deputy Chief Minister in a money laundering case related to the CBI FIR.
Last month, the Supreme Court had rejected Sisodia's curative petition challenging the top court's decision rejecting his bail plea in the liquor policy scam case.
A bench headed by CJI DY Chandrachud and comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai and SVN Bhatti had dismissed the curative petitions saying “no case is made out”.
“We have studied the curative petitions and related documents. In our opinion, no case is made out within the parameters stated in the judgment of this Court in Rupa Ashok Hurra vs. Ashok Hurra,” the bench said.
In December 2023, the top court had rejected Sisodia's plea seeking review of its October 30 verdict rejecting his bail pleas in money laundering cases related to alleged irregularities in the Delhi Excise policy.
The CBI as well as the ED had alleged that irregularities were committed while revising the excise policy, undue benefits were given to license holders, license fees were waived or reduced and licenses were extended without the approval of the competent authority.
Earlier this month, the former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister had written another letter to the people of his constituency (Patparganj) from Tihar Jail. He had compared his imprisonment to the atrocities committed by the British on freedom fighters and claimed that he would soon be out of jail.
“See you outside soon. Long live the education revolution, love to all of you. In the last year, I have missed everyone. Everyone worked together with great honesty. Just as everyone fought at the time of independence, in the same way today we are fighting for education and schools. Despite the British dictatorship, the dream of independence came true. Similarly, one day every child will get proper and good education,” he wrote.