"He Is Very Powerful": Delhi High Court Denies Bail To Manish Sisodia

Arvind Kejriwal got interim bail. So did Sanjay Singh. But no such luck for Manish Sisodia.

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday dismissed the bail petition of former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia in money laundering and corruption cases filed by the Enforcement Directorate and the CBI respectively in connection with the alleged liquor scam.

His party, the AAP, said it "respectfully disagrees" with the Delhi High Court's decision and will approach the Supreme Court to seek "justice" for the former deputy chief minister.

Mr Sisodia, 52, allegedly indulged in the destruction of crucial evidence, including electronic evidence, said Justice Swarna Kanta Sharma, who started pronouncing the order at 6:28 pm. The order was read out for 22 minutes.

"This court is of the opinion that petitioner has not been able to make out a case for grant of bail in his favour," the High Court said.

The High Court said he was a very powerful and influential person within the power corridors of the Delhi government.

At the time of his arrest, Mr Sisodia held 18 portfolios and was also a senior leader of the AAP.

Mr Sisodia, said the court, used deceptive methods to show that the Delhi liquor policy had public support but, in reality, the policy was enacted to benefit a few individuals.

"This constitutes a form of corruption," the court held.

Arvind Kejriwal's government was accused of corruption when it implemented a policy to liberalise the sale of liquor in 2021 and give up a lucrative government stake in the sector. The policy was withdrawn the following year, but the resulting probe into the alleged corrupt allocation of licences has since seen the jailing of two top AAP leaders.

The high court had on May 14 reserved its order on the petitions after hearing arguments on behalf of the AAP leader, CBI and ED.

The trial court had recently rejected Mr Sisodia's bail petition in both the CBI and ED cases against him, leading to the present petition before the High Court.

Manish Sisodia was arrested by the CBI on February 26 in connection with the liquor policy case. After this, he was arrested in the money laundering case on March 9 by the ED.