Manish Sisodia, AAP Leaders Accused of Delaying Delhi Excise Policy Scam Trial

New Delhi: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Manish Sisodia and other accused were causing delays in the trial in the Delhi excise policy "scam" case related to money laundering.

While opposing Sisodia's bail plea before Special Judge Kavita Baweja, the agency also claimed that he was responsible for formulating this policy and received an advance bribe of Rs 100 crore along with other AAP members.

The AAP leader had sought relief from the court citing delay in the trial proceedings. The central probe agency claimed that the "delay" was not from the prosecution side but from the accused persons. The ED told the court, "The delay in the hearing of the case was not due to the prosecution but was caused by the accused persons. The accused persons including Sisodia made concerted efforts to delay the proceedings."

Meanwhile, the judge extended Sisodia's judicial custody till April 18 as his custody period expired and he was produced before the court. During the proceedings, Sisodia's co-accused and AAP supporter Sanjay Singh, who was recently granted bail by the Supreme Court, also appeared before the court.

The ED claims that a total of 95 applications have been filed by the accused, out of which 6 were filed by Sisodia. The agency said frivolous applications were filed by the accused persons, for which costs were also imposed by the previous judge. The court will hear arguments further on April 10.

Both the CBI and the ED have alleged that irregularities were committed while modifying the Delhi Excise Policy, undue favours were extended to license holders, license fees were waived or reduced and licenses were extended without the competent authority's approval.

The probe agencies have alleged that the beneficiaries allegedly routed the "ill-gotten" gains to the accused public servants and made false entries in their books of accounts to evade investigation.

Sisodia was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on February 26, 2023 for his alleged role in the "scam". The Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested Sisodia on March 9, 2023 in a money laundering case linked to the CBI FIR.

He resigned from the Delhi Cabinet on February 28, 2023.