Supreme Court Rejects ED/CBI Plea To Restrain Manish Sisodia From Attending Delhi Secretariat and Chief Minister's Office
While allowing his bail plea in relation to the liquor policy case, the Supreme Court today refused to restrain former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia from visiting Delhi Chief Minister's office and/or the Delhi Secretariat.
The bench of Justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan imposed the following conditions on Sisodia:
(i) He shall furnish bail bonds for a sum of Rs.10,00,000/- with two sureties of the like amount;
(ii) He shall surrender his passport with the Special Court;
(iii) He shall report to the Investigating Officer on every Monday and Thursday between 10-11 AM; and
(iv) He shall not make any attempt either to influence the witnesses or to tamper with the evidence.
Notably, after the judgment was pronounced by Justice Gavai, Additional Solicitor General SV Raju requested the court to impose conditions akin to those imposed on Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal at the time of grant of interim bail (which prohibited him from attending CM office and Delhi Secretariat).
However, the bench disagreed, saying that it was not inclined to do so and has already imposed conditions to allay the agencies' concerns.
In response to the ASG's contention that the agencies may be given liberty to approach for cancellation of bail in the event of violation of the conditions imposed, the bench remarked that the liberty is always there.
Notably, during the hearing of the case, an apprehension was shown by the ASG regarding possibility of Sisodia tampering with evidence upon his release. In this regard, the court noted in the judgment that the case largely depends on documentary evidence which has already been seized by the prosecution.
"As such, there is no possibility of tampering with the evidence. Insofar as the concern with regard to influencing the witnesses is concerned, the said concern can be addressed by imposing stringent conditions upon the appellant", the court said.
Other reports on the judgment can be read here.
Case Title:
[1] Manish Sisodia v. Directorate of Enforcement, SLP(Crl) No. 8781/2024;
[2] Manish Sisodia v. Central Bureau of Investigation, SLP(Crl) No. 8772/2024
Citation : 2024 LiveLaw (SC) 563