Supreme Court To Hear Manish Sisodia’s Bail Plea

The Supreme Court will hear Special Leave Petitions filed by Manish Sisodia, the former Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi, challenging the denial of bail in alleged corruption and money laundering cases related to the excise policy scam.

According to the cause list on the apex court’s website, Justices Aravind Kumar and Sandeep Mehta will preside over the matter on 4 June.

The Delhi High Court had denied bail to the senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader on May 21, stating that he failed to meet the triple test for bail in the corruption case and the twin conditions under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.

Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma of the High Court, however, allowed Sisodia to continue meeting his ailing wife weekly, as per the terms set by the trial court.

Earlier this year, in March, the Supreme Court dismissed curative petitions filed by Sisodia challenging the dismissal of review pleas against its 2023 verdict, which denied him bail in the liquor policy case in the national capital.

The top court, in its 30 October 2023 judgment, denied bail to Sisodia but indicated that he could apply for bail again if the trial faced significant delays over the following three months.

On 30 April, Special Judge Kaveri Baweja of the Rouse Avenue Court refused to grant regular bail to Sisodia for the second time.

The trial court noted that delays in the case proceedings were primarily due to actions attributable to Sisodia, thereby dismissing his claims of undue delay.

Last week, a Delhi court extended Sisodia’s judicial custody until July 6 in the excise policy case, which is being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

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