Delhi ministers Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain on Tuesday resigned from the Cabinet, amid corruption allegations against them. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has accepted their resignations.No new ministers will join the cabinet, party sources said.
Manish Sisodia was arrested by the CBI on Sunday evening in the alleged corruption in the formulation and implementation of the now-scrapped liquor policy. Mr Jain is currently in Delhi's Tihar Jail in a money laundering case.
The resignations came after the Supreme Court earlier today declined to interfere in the case against Delhi Manish Sisodia. The Chief Justice said, "This is regarding prevention of corruption act. Vinod Dua's case was a very different this is a corruption case. Go to High court".
"Our doors are open, but we are not ready to entertain. This will be a very bad precedent," Chief Justice DY Chandrachud said.
Here are the highlights on Manish Sisodia case in Supreme Court:
"It has been a win for the people of Delhi today. We were sure Mr Sisodia is going to be arrested the day the policy was withdrawn," said Delhi BJP working President Virendra Sachdeva.
Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain, arrested Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) ministers, quit the Delhi cabinet today. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal accepted their resignations, paving the way for a cabinet shuffle to bring in new ministers.
Manish Sisodia was arrested on Sunday over allegations of corruption in the Delhi liquor policy case. Before his arrest, he predicted that he would be in jail for "7-8 months".
The Supreme Court today refused to hear Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia's challenge to his arrest in the liquor policy case. The court asked Mr Sisodia - arrested by the CBI on Sunday - to "go to the High Court".
🔴 #BREAKING | Go To High Court, Supreme Court Tells Manish Sisodia In Liquor Policy Case https://t.co/70hRaPKmAS
- NDTV (@ndtv) February 28, 2023
NDTV's Arvind Gunasekar reports pic.twitter.com/qsTbqIprYk
The Chief Justice said, "This is regarding prevention of corruption act. Vinod Dua case was a very different this is a corruption case. Go to high court".
The Chief Justice said our doors are open, but we are not ready to entertain. This will be a very bad precedent and just because it's happening in Delhi, he said.
You are challenging Article 32. Vinod Dua's case was about the freedom of speech, rights to expression, said the Chief Justice.
Hitting out at the AAP government over the now-scrapped excise policy, the BJP on Tuesday said it will raise awareness on the "conspiracy" that was hatched to "toy" with the future of youths in Delhi by allowing "proliferation" of liquor vends.
He said the party has decided to raise awareness on the issue, as "for us, it is not just a issue of corruption", but is also about the "future of youths in Delhi".
BJP MP Gautam Gambhir today described the Delhi Excise Policy Scam as an "open-and-shut case" and alleged that the policy was made to exploit money to "fight elections with Khalistani help".
"It was an open-and-shut case. They should get what they deserve. This is the 1st time in India that an Education Min will go to Tihar jail that too in liquor scam case. This policy was made to exploit money so they can fight elections with Khalistani's help," he said while speaking to ANI.
Aam Aadmi Paty (AAP) leader Sanjay Singh today questioned the arrest of Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia following an eight-hour questioning by the CBI in the alleged liquor policy scam.
A special Delhi court on Monday sent Mr Sisodia to five-day CBI remand in the alleged scam.
Speaking to NDTV, Mr Singh asked why has there been no FIR against former Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal who had approved the now-scrapped excise policy for 2021-22.
"CBI had no answer to the questions asked by our lawyers yesterday. Nothing was found even after raiding Manish Sisodia's office. The excise policy first went to the Lieutenant Governor who was appointed by the BJP," Mr Singh said.
Manish Sisodia Challenges Arrest, CBI's Probe In Supreme Court https://t.co/u9AySDCqAI
- NDTV (@ndtv) February 28, 2023
NDTV's Sunil Prabhu reports pic.twitter.com/BjiIs7en5x
Manish Sisodia, Delhi's Deputy Minister, was on Sunday arrested by the CBI after being questioned for over eight hours in the Delhi liquor policy case. He is the second Delhi minister to be arrested.
Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia today challenged his arrest by the CBI in the Supreme Court. Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, after hearing Mr Sisodia's lawyer Abhishek Singhvi, asked why they did not go to the high court instead before coming to the Supreme Court directly.
The Supreme Court agreed to hear on Tuesday itself the bail plea of Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, who is in CBI custody, in connection with the excise policy case.
The moment a bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justice P S Narasimha assembled, senior advocate A M Singhvi, appearing for Mr Sisodia, mentioned the bail plea for urgent hearing during the day itself.