The Rouse Avenue Court has extended the judicial custody of former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia till April 17, 2023.
New Delhi: The Rouse Avenue Court has extended former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia's judicial custody until April 17, 2023. Manish Sisodia is in jail in a case related to alleged irregularities in the scrapped excise policy. Let us tell you that earlier on Friday, the Delhi court had also rejected the bail plea of former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia in the Excise Policy case being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The Rouse Avenue Court has now sent Sisodia to judicial custody till April 17.
Sisodia's lawyer gave these arguments
During the court's last hearing, Sisodia's counsel had submitted that nothing specific has been stated by the CBI, which warrants the continuation of the custody. There is nothing on record to show that Sisodia was threatening the witnesses, the lawyer said. The lawyer argued that Sisodia has cooperated with the CBI probe and no incriminating material against him has come to the fore in any of the searches.
The lawyer told the court that there is no doubt that Manish Sisodia has a deep hold on society. Every time he was called before the CBI, he appeared. I am a public servant. There have been two public servants in this case, the allegations are much more serious than that. But he is not arrested. There is no material evidence of witness tampering or intimidation of witnesses etc., the counsel said. I request you to please grant bail to Sisodia.
Sisodia was arrested on 26 February
Significantly, the CBI arrested Sisodia on February 26 after several rounds of questioning concerning alleged corruption in the now-cancelled Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22. After the CBI arrested the AAP leader on February 26, the ED also arrested him on March 9 in the same case. The probe agency had informed the court that a huge amount of data from the email and mobile of the former deputy chief minister was also being forensically analysed.