During a recent Supreme Court hearing on the bail petitions of senior AAP leader Manish Sisodia related to the liquor policy case, both the CBI and ED revealed that a bribe of Rs. 100 crore was allegedly solicited by the Aam Aadmi Party for the Goa elections. Of this amount, Rs. 45 crore has been traced during the investigation.
Additional Solicitor General (ASG) SV Raju, representing the central agencies, informed the bench led by Justice BR Gavai that they possess substantial digital evidence supporting their claims. Raju indicated that Sisodia, who oversaw the Delhi government's excise department, and co-accused Vijay Nair were involved in receiving the kickbacks. He elaborated that Sisodia allegedly orchestrated emails and instructed interns on crafting specific types of messages to facilitate the process.
Conversely, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, defending Sisodia, argued for his client's release on bail due to the prolonged 17-month custody period and the delay in the trial's conclusion. Singhvi also requested interim bail, citing Sisodia's wife's severe medical condition.
The Supreme Court has scheduled the next hearing for August 12. Previously, the court had issued a notice to the central agencies, requesting their response to Sisodia's bail pleas. On July 16, the court set the next hearing date for July 29, indicating it would reconvene after two weeks.
In an earlier ruling on October 30 of the previous year, the Supreme Court had denied bail to Sisodia but allowed the possibility for a fresh bail application if the trial progressed slowly within the next three months. Special Judge Kaveri Baweja of the Rouse Avenue Court had also denied regular bail to Sisodia on April 30, citing that delays were primarily due to Sisodia's own actions.
The Delhi High Court upheld this decision, stating that Sisodia did not meet the criteria for bail in corruption cases and failed to satisfy the conditions under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. Sisodia then appealed to the Supreme Court, which last month dismissed his pleas after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta assured that the final charge sheet would be filed by July 3.
Currently, Sisodia's judicial custody has been extended until August 9 for the CBI case and August 13 for the money laundering case. He appeared via video conference from Tihar Jail following the expiration of his previous custody period.
