Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday reserved its verdict on the bail plea of former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, asking the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) about the anticipated timeline for concluding the trial in the Delhi excise policy scam case.
Sisodia is under investigation by both agencies for allegedly providing undue advantages to private players through the 2021-22 liquor excise policy, which has since been scrapped. The Supreme Court bench, comprising Justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan, expressed concerns about the trial’s duration given the extensive list of witnesses.
“Realistically, tell us with 493 witnesses, even if you drop 50% of the witnesses, do you see any end of the tunnel?” the bench questioned, noting that the CBI has filed eight charge sheets against 57 accused individuals, with the trial court having taken cognizance of only four. In the ED case, 224 witnesses have been listed, with 40 individuals named as accused.
Sisodia, who has been in custody for over 16 months, has cited delays in the trial as a basis for his bail plea, asserting that there are no allegations of him tampering with evidence. The Supreme Court had previously denied his bail on October 30 but allowed for the possibility of revisiting the appeal if the trial did not commence within 6-8 months.
Additional Solicitor General (ASG) SV Raju, representing both the ED and CBI, attributed the delays to the accused filing 118 applications for document inspections unrelated to the complaint. Raju argued that these actions by the accused delayed the trial, not the investigative agencies.
The bench, however, questioned this claim, noting that the applications filed by Sisodia had not been deemed frivolous by the trial court. “Show us any order which says the application was frivolous or vexatious or meant to delay the 6 to 8 months window he got for trial to begin. We find no application is dismissed. Most applications are allowed,” the bench remarked.
Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing Sisodia, clarified that out of the 118 applications mentioned, only 14 were filed by Sisodia. He contended that the delay in the trial was not attributable to Sisodia and emphasized the need for a speedy trial.
The court reminded the ED of its previous commitment to file the final charge sheet by July 3, pointing out an inconsistency in the agency’s submissions about the trial’s timeline.
Regarding Sisodia’s plea for interim bail due to his wife’s deteriorating health, the ASG opposed it, citing concerns about potential witness tampering. Raju highlighted that several crucial witnesses, some of whom have become approvers, are still to testify.
Singhvi dismissed these concerns as baseless, arguing that there was no evidence of Sisodia influencing witnesses. He stressed that Sisodia has been denied a speedy trial and has substantial societal roots, making him unlikely to flee.
Sisodia was arrested by the CBI in February 2023, followed by the ED a month later, based on a complaint by Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena in July 2022 alleging irregularities in the excise policy. Other AAP leaders, including Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and MP Sanjay Singh, have also been implicated in the ED probe.
