Delhi High Court Extends Deadline for ED and CBI to Respond to Manish Sisodia’s Bail Appeals in Excise Policy Case

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) requested additional time from the Delhi High Court on Wednesday to respond to former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia’s bail petitions in the excise policy case.

During the proceedings, advocate Zoheb Hossain, representing the ED, informed the single-judge bench of Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma that they were in the process of preparing a supplementary prosecution complaint and requested a week’s time due to ongoing proceedings in the Supreme Court regarding a co-accused.

In response, Sisodia’s counsel, Vivek Jain, argued that the agencies had been investigating the case for one and a half years and pointed out their previous commitments to expedite the trial. However, Hossain contended that the current bail petition had unique aspects requiring further investigation.

Justice Sharma inquired about the time needed to file a reply, to which Hossain explained the complexities of the ongoing investigation. Jain opposed, highlighting the prolonged nature of the inquiry.

Ultimately, the court granted the agencies four days to file their responses, emphasizing the need for expeditious proceedings. The CBI’s counsel agreed to provide the reply by Monday, with the matter scheduled for the following Tuesday.

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Sisodia had approached the high court against the trial court’s decision to deny him bail in both money-laundering and corruption cases. The trial court, in its ruling, noted the accused’s attempts to delay proceedings through various applications, labeling them as frivolous. It also considered Sisodia’s personal circumstances, including his wife’s health condition, but concluded that there were no urgent grounds warranting his release.

Despite efforts to slow down the case, the trial court observed a steady progression and denied bail to Sisodia, a decision he has now appealed at the high court.