Delhi HC issues notice over Sisodia’s plea challenging charge sheet cognisance

The court fixed December 20 as the next date for hearing after ED’s special counsel urged an adjournment due to the unavailability of additional solicitor general SV Raju

The Delhi high court on Monday issued a notice to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) over former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia’s plea challenging a city court’s order taking cognisance of the charge sheet filed in the Delhi excise policy case.

Former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia. (PTI)

A bench of Justice Manoj Kumar Ohri fixed December 20 as the next date for hearing after ED’s special counsel urged an adjournment due to the unavailability of additional solicitor general SV Raju. The court will also hear the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal’s plea seeking similar relief in the same case on the same day.

Sisodia has sought the quashing claiming that the alleged money laundering offence was committed while he was a public servant. He added he was entitled to protection under Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) Section 197(1), whose applicability the Supreme Court reinforced in Bibhu Prasad Acharya’s ruling.

Section 197(1) mandates that no prosecution against a public servant can proceed without obtaining prior sanction from the competent authority. The provision corresponds to Section 218 of the Bhartiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, which replaced CrPC in July.

In a ruling on November 6, the Supreme Court said that prior sanction is required to prosecute public servants for money laundering. Kejriwal and senior congress leader P Chidambaram cited the ruling and also approached the high court. The trial against Chidambaram in the INX media & Aircel Maxis case was stayed based on the November 6 ruling.

Sisodia argued the ED did not take sanction to prosecute him despite being a public servant at the time of the commission of the alleged offence.

Sisodia was booked for allegedly benefitting private players by formulating the now-scrapped 2021-22 excise policy. He was arrested in February 2023. The Supreme Court on August 9 granted him bail.