Former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia has been denied interim bail in a money laundering case related to the alleged excise policy scam. The Delhi High Court noted that Sisodia is facing extremely serious allegations and that there’s a possibility of him influencing witnesses if released. However, the court allowed the senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader to meet his wife in their residence/hospital for one day between 10 am to 5 pm but under certain conditions, including not interacting with media.
BJP MP Gautam Gambhir responded to the news by saying, If you have done corruption, the only place you deserve is where you are at the moment. Gambhir alleged that Sisodia had only extorted money through the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy during the Covid-19 pandemic. The Delhi government implemented the policy on November 17, 2021, but scrapped it at the end of September 2022 amid allegations of corruption.
Sisodia was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on February 26 in connection with its excise policy probe, after which he resigned as deputy chief minister of Delhi. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) subsequently arrested him on March 9, and he is currently in judicial custody. Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma refused to grant Sisodia bail, saying, the court finds it very difficult to persuade itself to release the petitioner on interim bail for six weeks.
