Manish Sisodia arrested in excise duty scam: What's next for Delhi Deputy CM?

Sisodia was arrested under sections 120 B (criminal conspiracy), 477 A (intent to defraud) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, who was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation in connection with the now-scrapped excise policy case, will be produced before a special CBI court at Rouse Avenue on Monday.

The officials of the Anti-Corruption Branch of the CBI grilled the minister on various aspects of the Excise policy, his alleged link with Dinesh Arora and other accused in the FIR, and details of message exchanges from multiple phones among others.

The CBI investigators were not satisfied with the responses provided by Sisodia. It was claimed that he was not cooperating in the investigation and avoiding clarifications sought by officials on crucial points, leading to his arrest, they said. The probe agency officials said it was felt that custodial interrogation was necessary to put Sisodia through intense questioning, they said.

Sisodia was arrested under sections 120 B (criminal conspiracy), 477 A (intent to defraud) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The Delhi deputy CM's arrest could lead to a crisis in the Delhi government as he handled 18 of the total 33 departments. He looked after departments such as health, education, public works department (PWD), services, finance, power, home and urban development.

He is also in charge of all other departments not specifically allotted to any minister. Apart from Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, the Delhi government has six cabinet ministers, including jailed Satyendar Jain who is still a minister without a portfolio.

Sisodia arrested: What will happen next

• Before his court hearing, Manish Sisodia will undergo a medical test at the CBI headquarters.
• For now, Sisodia will be lodged at the headquarters for now and will be produced before the court on Monday.
• The CBI will seek Sisodia's custody for further investigation in the Delhi Excise Policy case.
• If the probe agency gets custody, he will be grilled further by the central probe agency,
• In case, custody is denied, the Deputy CM will be sent to jail.