Supreme Court To Hear Manish Sisodia's Bail Pleas In Liquor Policy Case On August 5

The Supreme Court on Monday (July 29) posted the petitions filed by former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia seeking bail in the liquor policy case to August 5.

The bench of Justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan adjourned the hearing after Additional Solicitor General SV Raju sought time to file the counter-affidavit on behalf of the Enforcement Directorate. ASG told the bench that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has already filed its counter but the same has not come on record.

It may be recalled that Sisodia has filed two petitions seeking bail in the cases under the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Prevention of Money Laundering Act which are being handled by the CBI and the ED respectively.

During the brief hearing today, ASG objected to the maintainability of the new petitions filed by Sisodia in the Supreme Court. He submitted that the June 4 order of the Supreme Court only enabled Sisodia to file fresh bail applications in the trial court and not in the Supreme Court. Senior Advocate AM Singhvi, for Sisodia, objected to the ASG's submissions, terming it "very unfortunate."

The bench pointed out that in the June 4 order, there was consideration on merits and the petitioner was granted liberty to revive his bail pleas once the CBI/ED filed the chargesheet/prosecution complaint. The bench further pointed out that the period of 6-8 months fixed by the Supreme Court for the completion of the trial, as per the order passed on October 30 last year, is already over. In response, the ASG submitted that the delay is attributable to Sisodia.

To recap, on June 4, the Supreme Court had disposed of Sisodia's earlier bail plea after taking on record an assurance given by Solicitor General of India that the chargesheet/prosecution complaint in the liquor policy case would be filed on or before July 3, 2024. At the same time, the Court granted Sisodia liberty to revive his prayers for bail after the final complaint/chargesheet was filed.

On July 8, Senior Advocate Dr Abhishek Manu Singhvi mentioned Sisodia's application for urgent listing before the Chief Justice of India. He stressed that Sisodia has been in jail for 16 months and that the trial must conclude. Following this, the matter was listed on July 11 before a three-judge bench comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna, Sanjay Karol and Sanjay Kumar. However, the matter got adjourned as Justice Sanjay Kumar recused from the hearing of the case.

Sisodia's pleas were next listed on July 16, when a bench comprising Justices BR Gavai, Sanjay Karol and KV Viswanathan issued notice on them, upon hearing Advocate Vivek Jain (appearing for Sisodia), who argued that the leader has remained in custody for 16 months and the trial is at the same stage as it was in October, 2023, when he was given liberty to come back if the trial does not progress.

Details of the present case

Sisodia has moved the Supreme Court assailing the Delhi High Court order dated May 21 whereby his second bail plea was rejected. He is seeking bail in the cases filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Directorate of Enforcement under the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Prevention of Money Laundering Act respectively, in relation to the alleged liquor policy scam. He was first arrested by CBI and ED on February 26 and March 9 last year, respectively.

While denying bail, the Single Judge Bench of Delhi High Court noted that Sisodia's case depicted a grave misuse of power and breach of trust. Further, it opined that the material collected in the matter showed that Sisodia subverted the process of making the excise policy by fabricating public feedback to suit his goal.

Case Details:

[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