Excise ‘scam’: Delhi court denies bail to AAP leader Manish Sisodia in money laundering case

A Delhi court on Friday dismissed the bail application of AAP leader Manish Sisodia in a money laundering case related to the alleged excise policy scam.

Special Judge M K Nagpal denied the relief to Sisodia, saying the stage was not fit to grant him bail.

The judge had reserved the order after hearing arguments on Sisodia’s plea seeking relief claiming that his custody was no longer required for investigation.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had opposed the application, asserting the investigation was at a ”crucial” stage and claiming the senior AAP leader had planted fabricated e-mails to show there was public approval for the policy.

The federal agency also said it had found fresh evidence of his complicity in the alleged crime.

The court had on March 31 dismissed Sisodia’s bail application in a corruption case, being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), saying he was ”prima facie the architect” in the criminal conspiracy behind alleged payment of advance kickbacks of around Rs 90-100 crore meant for him and his colleagues in the Delhi government.

The court had observed that the release of Sisodia, at the moment, would ”adversely affect the ongoing investigation”.

The CBI and the ED had arrested Sisodia for alleged corruption in the formulation and execution of the now-scrapped Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22 and for laundering the money so generated.