A Delhi court is to hear on Friday, March 10, the bail application of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and former deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia in connection with the now-scrapped excise policy case. He was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on February 26 after being quizzed for several hours.
Special CBI Judge MK Nagpal of the Rouse Avenue Courts sent Sisodia to 14 days of judicial custody on March 6. The CBI was given his remand for seven days before the judge sent him to judicial custody till March 20. The judge had directed the CBI to file its response to the accused's bail application by Friday.
It has been claimed by the accused in his petition that he had fully cooperated with the central agency during the probe. He has stated that as all the recoveries have already been made, no fruitful purpose would be served by keeping him in custody and that the other accused persons arrested in this case have already been granted bail. He has also pointed out that he has held an important constitutional post and has deep roots in the society.
However, during the last hearing, the counsel appearing for the central agency said that at this stage, they are not seeking further CBI remand of Sisodia. However, they might seek in the next 15 days, the counsel said.
In a twist, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) also arrested Sisodia on Thursday in the same case. The ED, on the eve of his bail hearing, questioned him in connection with the alleged kickbacks of Rs 100 crore which the AAP party/leaders received through hawala channel from the south group. He was also asked about Arun Pillai and K Kavitha, member of Telangana Legislative Council and daughter of the state’s Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao.