Supreme Court issues notice to CBI and ED on bail plea of Manish Sisodia in Delhi excise policy case

Appearing for the Aam Adam Party (AAP) leader, Advocate Vivek Jain informed the bench Sisodia has been in jail for the past 16 months and that the trial had not progressed beyond the stage at which it was in October 2023 when the SC rejected his bail plea, giving him liberty to approach it once again if there is no progress in trial.

The Supreme Court had denied bail to Sisodia on October 10, 2023. Though it raised doubts on some of the charges levelled against him by ED, the court, however, said there is “material and evidence” which “tentatively” supports one of the charges under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002. According to the charge, the 14 wholesale distributors had earned “excess profit” of Rs 338 crore in a period of about 10 months during which the new excise policy was in operation.

Subsequently, the court also dismissed petitions seeking review of the October 10 order.

On June 4, 2024, a vacation bench of the SC declined to entertain Sisodia’s bail plea after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta assured that the final chargesheet/prosecution complaint against him would be filed by July 3. Noting the assurance, the top court bench disposed of the bail plea and said Sisodia could revive it once the chargesheet is filed.

The matter then came up before a three-judge bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna, Sanjay Karol, and Sanjay Kumar. However, Justice Kumar recused from the hearing following which it was posted on Tuesday before a bench presided over by Justice Gavai.

The court will now hear the matter on July 29.