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.
On January 25, the Supreme Court granted interim bail for eight weeks to Ashish Mishra and directed him to leave Uttar Pradesh within one week of his release from jail. A bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and J.K. Maheshwari directed the sessions judge dealing with the trial of the case to keep apprising it about the future developments of the trial.
Badal was reacting to media reports, which quoted the Punjabi University Vice-Chancellor as saying that the varsity is facing a "dark future" and demanded that the budgetary grant should be over Rs 300 crore. "The university is already under a debt of Rs 150 crore and is not in a position to pay salaries on time," Vice-Chancellor Professor Arvind has said.
Announcing this here, SAD spokesman Daljit Singh Cheema said a decision to this effect had been taken under the leadership of party President Sukhbir Badal following a meeting with constituency in-charges and senior BSP leadership.
Earlier in the day, the court deferred hearing in Sisodia's bail application for March 21, in the same case being probed by the CBI. Special CBI Judge M.K. Nagpal of the Rouse Avenue Courts has ordered Sisodia to be produced before court on March 17 at 2 p.m.
The Border Security Force (BSF) on Friday recovered an AK series rifle along with two magazines and 40 rounds of ammunition from a field in Gurdaspur sector after shooting down a drone. During the search, BSF troops found a hexacopter along with the weapon and ammunition.
The Chief Minister said the government has so far given 26,797 jobs to youth, adding that the budget stipulates to regularly recruit and create an ecosystem for private jobs for Punjabis to check brain drain.
