New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Tuesday denied bail to former state deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia in a case registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the alleged liquor policy scam.
Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma said the senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader was a powerful person and could influence witnesses if released on bail.
“The allegations are very serious in nature. The accused was a public servant… We have not examined the excise policy nor the power of the government. However, the applicant being a powerful person, there is the possibility of him influencing the witnesses,” the judge said.
Sisodia moved to the high court after a trial court on 31 March rejected his application for bail.
Justice Sharma also said Tuesday that “the excise policy was formed at the instance of South Group with mala fide intention to give undue advantage to them. Such conduct points towards the misconduct of the applicant who was admittedly a public servant and was holding a very high position.”
The court said that Sisodia held the post of deputy chief minister with 18 portfolios during the tenure of the alleged scam. Since the witnesses were largely public servants, the possibility of them being influenced could not be ruled out, the judge said.
The CBI arrested Sisodia in the case on 26 February. He was subsequently arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on 9 March.
The probe agencies have alleged that Sisodia, along with other AAP members, granted liquor licences to a group of leaders from the South in exchange for kickbacks worth Rs 100 crore.
They said the now-withdrawn excise policy of 2021-2022 was tweaked and profit margins changed to benefit these traders.
The ED identified these leaders and businessmen as the “South Group”. The group reportedly comprises YSRCP Ongole MP Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy (MSR), his son Magunta Raghava Reddy, and BRS MLC K. Kavitha, who were represented by businessman Arun Ramachandra Pillai.
It also has Hyderabad businessman Abhishek Boinpally, chartered accountant Butchibabu Gorantla, and leading pharma company director P. Sarath Chandra Reddy.
Probing him for money laundering, the ED alleged in its chargesheet that alcohol wholesaler Sameer Mahandru and AAP’s communication in-charge Vijay Nair hatched a conspiracy with the South Group.
The CBI and ED first registered cases against Sisodia after Delhi Lieutenant Governor (LG) V.K. Saxena recommended a CBI probe based on a report by the Delhi chief secretary.
Sisodia has said he was innocent of the charges and held that the policy and the changes made in it were approved by the LG.
Sisodia is at present in judicial custody. He was denied bail by a special judge in the CBI case on 31 March. He was also denied bail in the ED case by a trial court on 28 April. The AAP leader has moved the high court for bail in the ED case – which is pending.
Sisodia will now move the Supreme Court for bail in the CBI case.
Also read: ‘Shocking misbehaviour’: AAP accuses Delhi Police of manhandling Manish Sisodia in court