Sisodia moves plea in Delhi HC challenging trial court's order denying him bail in money laundering case

This comes after Sisodia's bail plea was dismissed last week and extended his judicial custody till April 17.

Former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia on Wednesday moved a plea in the Delhi high court challenging the trial court's order denying him bail in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) case related to alleged irregularities in the framing and implementation of the excise policy of the Union Territory government. The bench headed by Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma will hear the matter on Thursday.

Former Delhi deputy CM. (HT file image)

This comes after Sisodia's bail plea was dismissed last week and extended his judicial custody till April 17.

Sisodia was arrested on March 9 by the central agency following several rounds of questioning.

On March 31, a trial court in Delhi said they are “not inclined to release him on bail at this stage of investigation of the case as his release may adversely affect the ongoing investigation and will also seriously hamper the progress.” It added that the allegations against Sisodia are “serious in nature” and that he played the “most important and vital role in the criminal conspiracy”.

Earlier in the day, Delhi's Rouse Avenue Court also extended the judicial custody of Manish Sisodia in the money laundering case till April 17.

Sisodia's lawyer Vivek Jain argued that there has been no Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) case against the former deputy CM. "Section 45 of PMLA would come against him only if an offence under Section 3 is made out”, he argued.