The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Manish Sisodia’s bail pleas on Monday, July 29, in connection with the alleged Delhi excise policy scam. Sisodia has been in custody for 16 months since his arrest in February 2023. The bench of Justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan will review his requests for bail.
The case stems from a July 2022 report submitted to Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena by Delhi Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar. The report alleges that Sisodia used kickbacks from liquor vending licensees to fund AAP’s 2022 Punjab election campaign.
The FIR accuses Sisodia of being “instrumental in recommending and taking decisions related to the excise policy for 2021-22 without the approval of the competent authority, intending to extend undue favors to the licensee post-tender.”
On February 26, 2023, Sisodia, who was the Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi at the time, was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). He faces charges under sections related to criminal conspiracy (120B), intent to defraud (477A), and Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
Sisodia has been in judicial custody for 16 months. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) informed the Supreme Court that the trial is expected to last six to eight months.
The chargesheet and prosecution complaint, which were due by July 3, had not been filed by the time the apex court agreed to hear Sisodia’s bail pleas, along with responses from the ED and CBI on July 16.
