Delhi excise policy case: Sisodia says cooperated in probe, CBI opposes his bail plea

PTI, Mar 21, 2023, 4:24 PM IST

Former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Tuesday told a Delhi court he has cooperated with the CBI investigation into the excise scam case and none of the searches have revealed any incriminating material against him.

Sisodia’s counsel, while making submissions on the bail plea of the AAP leader, said his custodial interrogation was no longer required and he was not a flight risk.

“I am public servant but two other public servants, against whom allegations are graver have not been arrested,” his counsel contended.

The lawyer for Sisodia, who was arrested on February 26 by the CBI, further said there’s no documentary evidence of receiving kickbacks against him and the change in the excise policy is purely in normal course.

He said the matter of change in excise policy went to the Delhi LG and the finance secretary among others.

Sisodia’s counsel told the court that all the offences alleged entails less than seven years of imprisonment in the case and any further incarceration is not justified.

The CBI, which opposed the bail plea of Sisodia, said he had dealt with ‘unprecedented’ 18 ministries and while he may not be a flight risk but he is definitely a risk for evidence destruction.

The counsel appearing for the CBI submitted that frequently changing of phones by the former deputy chief minister was not at all an innocent act but deliberately done for destruction of evidences in the case.

”Probe agency has 60 days to file the chargesheet in the case and if Manish Sisodia comes out, investigation will be seriously compromised,” he said, adding that he Sisodia is definitely in a position to influence witnesses and destroy evidence in the case.

On Monday, Sisodia’s judicial custody was extended till April 3 by the Delhi court in the excise policy case being probed by the CBI.

He is at present in the Enforcement Directorate (ED) custody in a related case.

The ED had arrested Sisodia on March 9 evening in the Tihar jail, where he was lodged in connection with the case being probed by the CBI pertaining to alleged corruption in the formulation and implementation of the now-scrapped Delhi Excise Policy for 2021-22.

The CBI had arrested Sisodia on February 26.