राजनीति

Delhi court remands Manish Sisodia to CBI custody till March 4

A Delhi Court on Monday remanded Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia to Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) seeking custody till March 4 in a case related to the alleged Delhi Excise Policy scam.

Judge MK Nagpal of the Rouse Avenue Court passed the order.

Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) Pankaj Gupta for CBI had sought five days of custody of Sisodia.

Gupta argued that the investigation revealed that Sisodia verbally directed the Secretary to create a new cabinet note to alter the policy.

"He was heading the Group of Ministers constituted by the cabinet for the Excise Policy...The profit margin was enhanced from 5% to 12%. He could not explain why the changes were made," he said.

He further said that the agency was asking for his phone which he has been using since January 2020.

Appearing for Sisodia, Senior Advocate Dayan Krishnan argued that the CBI's grounds for remand were not tenable in law and that the arguments about profit margin were approved by Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena, the complainant.

On the allegation that Sisodia destroyed three of his four phones, he questioned if Sisodia was supposed to keep the phones in anticipation of the agency's arrest. He said,

"They say Sisodia used four phones, three of which are destroyed? What am I supposed to do? Keep those phones in anticipation that agency will come and arrest me?"

Further, he contended that the CBI's case was based on the fact that Sisodia did not answer question in the manner they wanted him to answer, which was not a valid ground for remand. He also argued that if the court granted remand based on self-incrimination, it would be a travesty.

Senior Advocate Mohit Mathur, who also appeared for the Deputy Chief Minister, argued that the investigating officer was trying to question the decisions taken by an elected government, which have been approved by the constitutional functionary (LG). He also noted that the increase of profit margin from 5% to 12% was already included in the note sent to the LG, and no changes were suggested by him.

Further, Senior Advocate Siddharth Aggarwal, who also represented Sisodia, submitted that Sisodia is the Finance Minister of Delhi and has to present the budget. Aggarwal requested the court to consider the timing of Sisodia's arrest and argued that the case was an assault not only on Sisodia but also on the institution. Aggarwal further contended that granting remand in this case would send a wrong message.

Sisodia was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) after an interrogation that lasted nearly eight hours. The CBI included Sisodia as an accused in the Delhi Excise Policy case, where it was alleged that Sisodia and other members of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) granted liquor licenses to certain traders in exchange for bribes.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) and CBI registered cases against the alleged scam after Delhi Lieutenant Governor (LG) VK Saxena recommended a CBI probe based on a report by the Delhi Chief Secretary. The report claimed that the Deputy Chief Minister violated statutory provisions and notified a policy that had significant financial implications.

Although Sisodia was not named in the CBI's chargesheet, the probe remained open against him and some others. The AAP has denied the allegations and maintained that Sisodia is innocent.