Manish Sisodia contributed to delay in court case, says judge; rejects bail plea

In his plea for bail, Manish Sisodia cited the prosecution’s assurance recorded in the Supreme Court ‘s October 30, 2023 order that the trial would end in 6-8 months

NEW DELHI: Former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, individually and along with other accused, contributed to the delay in court proceedings related to alleged irregularities in the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy, a Delhi court said in its order rejecting the senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader’s request for bail on Tuesday.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and former Delhi Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia (ANI FILE)

In his plea for bail, Sisodia had cited the prosecution’s assurance to the Supreme Court last year that the trial would conclude within 6-8 months and underlined that he was entitled to seek bail by the top court’s October 30, 2023 order “in case the trial is protracted and proceeds at a snail’s pace in next three months”.

Special judge Kaveri Baweja rejected the reasoning. “It is apparent that the applicant (Sisodia) individually, and along with different accused have been filing one or the other application/making oral submissions frequently, some of them frivolous, that too on a piecemeal basis, apparently as a concerted effort for accomplishing the shared purpose of causing delay in the matter”, the judge said in her 42-page order rejecting Manish Sisodia’s bail plea. The detailed order was made available on Wednesday.

Baweja also listed 135 applications filed by different accused since April 2023 for various reasons including requests to seek documents relied on by the prosecution, CCTV recordings of their custodial interrogation and a request for interim bail.

“In the backdrop of the above discussion and the factual position which emerges from the court record, the plea of the Applicant that the proceedings have been delayed or protracted or that the case is proceedings at a snail’s pace are rejected. The so-called delay caused in progression of the case is also clearly on account of reasons attributable to the applicant,” the court said.

The court also rejected arguments presented by Sisodia’s lawyers that sought bail on grounds of parity with another accused, Benoy Babu, who was released after 13 months in jail, saying there was a difference in the nature of allegations against them.

To be sure, the court did not accept the argument that the case was moving at a ‘snail’s pace’.

“The argument of the Applicant that he has not contributed to delay in proceedings or that the case has been proceeding at a “snail’s pace”, therefore, cannot be accepted. The steady progression of the case, despite the apparent attempts to slow down its progress, cannot, by any standards, be equated with “snail’s pace”,” the court said.

The court also refused to grant him bail on the grounds that he needed to take care of his wife who is being treated for Multiple Sclerosis, the court took note of the Enforcement Directorate’s submissions that she has been suffering from the disease for a long time and the couple has a son who can take care of his wife. The court also underscored that Sisodia’s plea did not cite any medical emergency or urgent medical warranting his release.

CBI arrested Sisodia on February 26, 2023, stating that it had recovered several incriminating evidence in the case, and to conduct a fair investigation, his custody was required. The AAP leader was later sent to Tihar Jail by Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court, from where he was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) — which is carrying out a separate probe into the policy in connection with alleged money laundering — on March 9, 2023.