Delhi excise scam: Court sends Sisodia to jail till March 20

PTI, Mar 6, 2023, 7:19 PM IST

Image credit: PTI / File

A Delhi court on Monday sent former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia to judicial custody till March 20 in the excise scam case, after the CBI said it did not require the custody of the senior Aam Aadmi Party leader for now.

Sisodia was produced before special judge M K Nagpal on expiry of his seven-day custodial interrogation allowed by the court earlier.

At the outset, the counsel for CBI submitted before the court the investigative agency was not seeking his custody right now which it may do later.

During the proceedings, the CBI also accused AAP supporters as well as the media of ‘politicising’ the matter.

The CBI claimed the witnesses yet to be confronted are ”terrified” by conduct of accused.

”They are giving political colour to this. Entire arguments are running in media even before the court order is passed,” the CBI counsel told the court.

The submission was contested by senior advocates Mohit Mathur and Siddharth Aggarwal, who said on behalf of Sisodia that that CBI ”should put their house in order”.

”From 10 in the morning it is running in media that CBI will be asking for judicial custody. That information I cannot give,” Mathur said, prompting the court to tell CBI: ”There must be something on your source.” The central probe agency submitted even while the court is hearing the case, ”they (AAP) are calling the proceedings illegal”.

”Do not give it political colour. They are saying CBI is is doing wrong. This is not proper,” the CBI said.

The defence counsel wanted the CBI to inform the court who were calling the proceedings illegal.

”An application to send the accused to judicial custody has been filed. It is submitted that the CBI custody is no longer required and the same may be sought later, if required. In view of submission made, the accused is sent to JC till March 20,” the court said.

It allowed Sisodia to carry the Bhagavad Gita, spectacles, medicine etc. to jail while directing the Tihar jail authorities to consider his request for being allowed to do Vipassana meditation.

The judge directed the authorities concerned to produce Sisodia physically before the court on march 20.

The CBI had arrested Sisodia on February 26 in connection with alleged corruption in the formulation and implementation of the now-scrapped liquor policy for 2021-22.