Delhi excise policy case: Manish Sisodia's judicial custody extended till Apr 3

The former deputy chief minister is currently in Enforcement Directorate's custody, which, if not extended further, will end on March 22.

Delhi's Rouse Avenue court on Monday extended Manish Sisodia's judicial custody by 14 days, till April 3, in the alleged excise policy ‘scam,’ news agency ANI has reported. This means that the jailed AAP leader, who is in Enforcement Directorate (ED)'s custody till March 22, will again be sent to judicial custody if there is no further extension to his ED remand.

Delhi former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia was arrested on March 9 by ED  (Twitter Photo)

On March 6, the court had remanded Sisodia to judicial custody till March 20. Delhi's former deputy chief minister, who resigned as a minister on Feb 28, two days after he was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with the excise policy case, was arrested by ED on March 9, on the eve of his bail plea hearing against the CBI arrest. He was sent to ED's custody till March 17, which was later extended till March 22.

Both Sisodia and the AAP have strongly denied any wrongdoing, and accused the BJP-led central government of ‘misusing’ central agencies to harass opposition leaders, including Sisodia.

On March 5, several opposition leaders, including Delhi CM and AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal, in a joint letter to prime minister Narendra Modi, denounced both Sisodia's arrest, and the Centre's alleged ‘misuse’ of investigative agencies against members of opposition parties.