"CBI Has No Evidence Against Me In Delhi Liquor Case": Manish Sisodia

Former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia through Senior Advocate Dayan Krishnan today submitted before the High Court that the Central Bureau of Investigation has no evidence to show his involvement in the alleged irregularities in the framing and implementation of the excise policy of the Government.

The lawyer submitted that every accused in the CBI case has been released on bail except Mr Sisodia. Mr Sisodia was arrested on 26.02.2023 after more than 6 months after the Registration of FIR in the matter. And during the entirety of said investigation of 6 months before the arrest of the applicant, there was not a single that Applicant extended any threat to any witness.

Mr Sisodia (Applicant) in his bail stated that the possibility of a threat to witness cannot be said to arise without there being any material or antecedents of the Applicant. The witnesses in this case against the applicant are primarily civil servants, over whom the Applicant exercises no control, especially now since he has resigned from his official post.

After the conclusion of the submission arguments made by Mr Sisodia's lawyer, the bench of Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma on Thursday fixed April 26, 2023, for the arguments of the Central Bureau of Investigation.

Meanwhile, Senior Advocate Mohit Mathur, also appeared for Aam Aadmi Party Leader Manish Sisodia submitted that my client was called for questioning for the second time in February 2023, so all these allegations about my being capable of influencing the witnesses is totally wrong.

Earlier the Delhi HC had issued notice to CBI on a bail plea moved by Manish Sisodia challenging a trial court order denying bail to him in a CBI case related to Excise.

Mr Sisodia was arrested by the CBI on February 26, 2023, and is presently in Judicial custody. His bail plea was on March 31, 2023, by the trial Court in the case.

The trial Court while dismissing Sisodia's bail plea said, "The court is not inclined to release him on bail at this stage of investigation of the case as his release may adversely affect the ongoing investigation and will also seriously hamper the progress"

According to the CBI, Mr Sisodia had played the most important and vital role in the criminal conspiracy and he had been deeply involved in the formulation as well as the implementation of the said policy to ensure the achievement of the objectives of the said conspiracy.

The payment of advance kickbacks of around Rs. 90-100 crores was meant for him and his other colleagues in the GNCTD and Rs. 20-30 crores out of the above are found to have been routed through the co-accused Vijay Nair, Abhishek Boinpally and approver Dinesh Arora and in turn, certain provisions of the excise policy were permitted to be tweaked and manipulated by the applicant to protect and preserve the interests of South liquor lobby and to ensure repayment of the kickbacks to the said lobby, stated CBI.

Mr Sisodia, in his bail petition in a trial court, stated that no fruitful purpose would be served to keep him in custody as all the recoveries in the case have already been made.

He also stated that he joined the investigation as and when called for by the CBI. The other accused persons arrested in this case have already been granted bail, Sisodia noted further, adding that he held the important constitutional post of deputy CM of Delhi and has deep roots in the society.

He was arrested by CBI and ED in an ongoing investigation of a case related to alleged irregularities in the framing and implementation of the excise policy of the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi.

Earlier, the trial court noted that the accused had joined the investigation of this case on two earlier occasions, but he had failed to provide satisfactory answers to most of the questions put to him during his examination and interrogation, thus, failing to legitimately explain the incriminating evidence which allegedly surfaced against him during the investigation.

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