Court denies bail to Sisodia, accused of orchestrating conspiracy

Former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia’s bail plea in the excise policy case lodged by the CBI has been rejected by a court in New Delhi. The court stated that prima facie, Sisodia is the architect of the criminal conspiracy in the matter and his release may adversely impact the ongoing investigation and “seriously hamper” its progress. The judge, who had reserved order on Sisodia’s bail plea on March 24, said he was not inclined to release him at this stage. Sisodia had earlier sought bail saying he was neither a flight risk nor the CBI found anything incriminating against him in its probe into the alleged irregularities relating to the excise policy. However, the CBI had opposed the bail plea stating that though Sisodia was not a flight risk, he was “definitely” in a position to influence witnesses and destroy evidence. Sisodia was arrested by the CBI on February 26 in connection with alleged corruption in the formulation and implementation of the now-scrapped Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22. On March 9, the ED arrested Sisodia at Tihar jail, where he was lodged in connection with a separate case being probed by the CBI.