Excise scam: Court extends Sisodia's judicial custody till May 23
Darpan News Desk IANS, 08 May, 2023 12:30 PM
New Delhi, May 8 (IANS) A Delhi court on Monday extended AAP leader and former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia's judicial custody till May 23 in connection with the Delhi excise policy case being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
The ED has alleged that Sisodia was the mastermind behind the entire excise policy case and that he had deliberately leaked the policy to the co-accused to generate financial kickbacks.
Sisodia is currently in judicial custody.
The ED had arrested Sisodia on March 9 after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested him on February 26 this year.
Last month, Special CBI Judge M. K. Nagpal of Rouse Avenue Court had denied bail to Sisodia, holding that the evidence, prima facie, "speaks volumes" of his involvement in the offence.
Last week, High Court judge Dinesh Kumar Sharma sought the ED's response to Sisodia's bail plea and another application seeking interim bail on the ground of his wife's ill-health and listed the matter for further consideration on May 11.
In the case being probed by the CBI, Delhi court extended Sisodia's judicial custody till May 12.
This is the first time that the ED has named Sisodia in its charge sheet in the matter. Earlier, the CBI, which is conducting a parallel probe into the excise policy case, had named Sisodia in its supplementary charge sheet.
A sea of humanity streamed into Badal village in Muktsar district in lakhs to pay their last respects to five times Chief Minister. Thousands walked several kilometers to pay homage to the son of the soil.
The former Chief Minister maintained that the country needed Modi as the Prime Minister for five more years at least to further strengthen and consolidate its position at global and domestic level.
The Punjab Vigilance Bureau has exposed a scam by arresting seven people, including a revenue official, on charges of receiving compensations during acquisition of land on forged documents in Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) from 2016 to 2020.
Sisodia has sought for interim bail on the ground of illness of his wife. Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma, while listing the plea for consideration on Thursday with his regular bail plea, also asked the CBI to try make efforts to file the status report in the matter on the same day itself.
The arrested accused were identified as Nitin Narulla, Nikhil, Rajpal alias Raju Gahlot, Deepak - all residents of Delhi - Mohit and Jitender Dahiya, both residents of Haryana. Deepak, Nikhil and Nitin were found involved in other criminal cases as well.