Manish Sisodia

Manish Sisodia, the former Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi, is a prominent figure in the Aam Aadmi Party and has served as a member of the Political Affairs Committee. His portfolio includes key departments such as Education, Finance, Planning Land & Building, Vigilance, Services, Women and Child Development, Art, Culture and Languages, along with others not specifically assigned to any Minister. In the 2015 elections, he secured victory in the Patparganj constituency of East Delhi with a substantial margin of 28,761 votes.



Before his political career, Sisodia worked as a journalist for Zee News and All India Radio. He actively participated in the advocacy for the Right to Information Act and played a pivotal role in establishing the foundation of the Jan Lokpal Movement.



As a longstanding associate of Arvind Kejriwal, Sisodia collaborated with him to raise awareness and organise Mohalla Sabhas in Delhi.



Notably, during his tenure as the Education Minister, there has been a notable enhancement in the infrastructure and quality of education offered by government schools in Delhi.



In his role as Finance Minister, Sisodia made history by doubling the budgetary allocation to Education, constituting almost 25 per cent of the entire state budget. This groundbreaking initiative marked the commencement of a comprehensive reform process in public education. He has earned acclaim nationwide for his role as one of the most effective education administrators and advocates in government.



But a dent in his career appeared when he was first arrested by CBI and ED on February 26 and March 9 last year respectively.



In the FIR registered by the CBI, Sisodia and others have been accused of being instrumental in 'recommending' and 'taking decisions' regarding the 2021-22 excise policy, “without the approval of competent authority to extend undue favours to the licensee post tender”.



The central agency has also claimed that the AAP leader was arrested because he gave evasive replies and refused to cooperate with the investigation, despite being confronted with evidence.



On the other hand, the Enforcement Directorate has alleged that the excise policy was implemented as part of a conspiracy to give wholesale business profit of 12 per cent to certain private companies.



The agency has also claimed that there was a conspiracy that was coordinated by Vijay Nair and other individuals along with South Group to give extraordinary profit margins to wholesalers. Nair was acting on behalf of Kejriwal and Sisodia, according to the agency.



Sisodia's bail applications in both cases were rejected by Special Judge MK Nagpal on March 31 and April 28 last year. The Delhi High Court then denied bail to Sisodia in both cases after which he approached the Supreme Court challenging both these verdicts.



On October 30 last year, the Supreme Court refused to grant bail to him and on May 30, 2024, the Delhi Court dismissed the second regular bail plea filed by him in the cases registered by CBI and ED in connection with the probe into the now-scrapped Delhi liquor excise policy 2021-22.



He approached the Delhi High Court seeking bail in the corruption and money laundering cases lodged by the CBI and the ED on May 2, 2024. The court agreed to list the case the next day.



On August 8, the Supreme Court granted bail to him, nearly 18 months after his arrest. The Supreme Court's decision to grant bail in both cases underscores its frustration with the indefinite detention of Sisodia while awaiting a trial date. However, both the ED and the CBI had opposed his bail pleas.