SC seeks ED, CBI responses on Sisodia plea to tweak bail terms

The Supreme Court sought responses from CBI and ED on Manish Sisodia's plea to modify bail conditions, reducing his required appearances before the IO.

The Supreme Court on Friday sought the response of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on a plea filed by former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia seeking a modification in his bail conditions so that he does not have to appear before the investigating officer (IO) twice a week.

AAP leader Manish Sisodia. (PTI)

Issuing notice on the application moved by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader, a bench of justices Bhushan R Gavai and KV Viswanathan posted the matter for early December. Sisodia was granted bail on August 9 in the Delhi excise policy case.

Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for Sisodia along with advocate Vivek Jain, pointed out that since the grant of bail by the top court on August 9, Sisodia had appeared 60 times before the IO. Besides, he attended the trial on all 18 dates showing full compliance with the order of bail passed by the top court.

“He is a respectable person. He has gone to the IO 60 times. Such a condition has not been imposed on other accused as the same ED gave its no objection. This must be heard at the earliest,” Singhvi said.

The bench said, “We will clarify it on the next date.” On Singhvi’s request to take up the matter next week, the bench said that will not be possible due to events lined up in the top court relating to Constitution Day celebrations.

The top court, while granting bail to Sisodia, imposed a slew of conditions. One of them required him to report to the IO on every Monday and Thursday between 10am and 11 am. In his latest application, he has sought that this condition be dropped.

Sisodia was arrested in February 2023 for his alleged role in the conspiracy to introduce the now-scrapped excise policy to benefit private retailers by increasing commission rates from 5% to 12%. He has denied all charges.

The judgment granting him bail noted the long incarceration of 17 months suffered by Sisodia and the right to speedy trial that was part of fundamental right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. It noted that going by the huge volume of evidence and the long list of witnesses, there was no probability of the trial commencing soon.