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Delhi excise policy: SC grants bail to former AAP media in-charge Vijay Nair
Vijay Nair was arrested in November 2022 in connection with kickbacks the AAP allegedly received for making changes in the now-scrapped 2021-22 excise policy
The Supreme Court on Monday granted bail to former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) media in-charge Vijay Nair in the Delhi excise policy case, citing his incarceration of almost two years. It said the trial is the case was yet to begin and the maximum punishment to be awarded in case of conviction is seven years.
Nair is the third accused in the Delhi excise case to get bail since August. The court ordered former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia and Bharat Rashtra Samiti leader K Kavitha’s release on bail on August 9 and August 27.
A bench of justices Hrishikesh Roy and SVN Bhatti said the universal proposition of bail being the rule and jail being the exception will be defeated if Nair is kept in custody for long, particularly when the final sentence to be awarded is only seven years.
Nair was arrested in November 2022 in connection with kickbacks the AAP allegedly received for making changes in the now-scrapped 2021-22 excise policy to favour private liquor retailers known as South Group. Nair was given bail in 2022 in the Central Bureau of Investigation case against him. Nair can now walk out of jail.
The court observed the right to liberty guaranteed under the Constitution’s Article 21 is sacrosanct and required to be respected even in cases under stringent provisions of laws such as the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
Senior advocates Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Rebecca John, appearing for Nair along with advocate Vivek Jain, argued that their client has been incarcerated for close to 22 months. They referred to co-accused Sisodia and Kavitha, who were granted bail after 17 months and five months.
The bench noted the duration of custody and said Nair’s incarceration cannot be a mode of punishment without trial.
Additional solicitor general SV Raju said the charges against Nair are grave. He pointed out that Kavitha got the benefit of being a woman accused under PMLA and Sisodia the delay. Raju cited an earlier order of October 30 that allowed Sisodia to renew his bail plea in the event the trial is not complete. He blamed Nair for delaying trial by filing belated applications for documents and CCTV footage after two years in the case.
The court told Raju that people at a much higher level in AAP have got bail in the same case. “Incarceration of an under trial cannot be a punishment for the offence he is charged with as the trial may also result in an acquittal.”
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) told the court that PMLA Section 45 requires the court to draw a prima facie conclusion that he is not an accused. It cited evidence and said Nair had nothing to do with excise and acted as a middleman for the AAP to receive the kickbacks of ₹100 crore from the so-called South Group, the private retailers who benefited from the increased commission rates introduced in the excise policy.
Raju said the money was spent in the Goa election when the bench asked him if they had recovered anything from Nair. Singhvi told the court that Nair was made an accused based on accused-turned-approver Dinesh Arora’s statement. He pointed out Arora in his 12th statement to ED recorded under PMLA named Nair. Singhvi said he did not name Nair in earlier statements. The court recorded this while granting bail to Nair.
The court said the conditions imposed in the orders granting bail to Sisodia and Kavitha will apply to Nair as well. It clarified the bail order will not impact the trial of the case.
