Delhi Excise Scam: HC Denies Bail To Manish Sisodia; AAP Leader To Move SC

The Delhi high court on Tuesday denied bail to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Manish Sisodia in a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) case related to the alleged excise policy scam in Delhi.

A single-judge bench of Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma ruled that Sisodia is a powerful person and could influence witnesses if released on bail.

"The allegations are very serious in nature. The accused was a public servant... We have not examined the excise policy nor the power of the government. However, the applicant being a powerful person, there is the possibility of him influencing the witnesses," the Court said.

The high court acknowledged Sisodia's alleged role as the mastermind behind the plan to increase profit margins to 12%.

The court noted that the allegations against Sisodia are highly serious, indicating a conspiracy in the formulation of the policy to gain unfair advantages.

However, Sisodia is likely to move the Supreme Court against this high court order.

Sisodia was arrested by the CBI on February 26 for alleged corruption in the formulation and implementation of the now-scrapped Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22 following several rounds of questioning.

The CBI claimed that Sisodia and other AAP leaders granted liquor licenses to certain traders in exchange for bribes.

The probe agency alleged that the excise policy was tweaked and the profit margins were changed in a manner that benefited certain traders and kickbacks were received in exchange for the same.

Central agencies ED and the CBI have registered cases in relation to the alleged scam after Delhi Lieutenant Governor (LG) VK Saxena recommended a CBI probe based on a report by the Delhi Chief Secretary.

The report claimed that Sisodia violated statutory provisions and notified a policy that had significant financial implications.