"Modi ji..." Sisodia as Delhi Court extends judicial custody in ED case

NEW DELHI: Delhi's Rouse Avenue Court on Saturday extended Aam Aadmi Party leader and former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia's judicial custody till May 8 in the ED case pertaining to the excise policy matter.

While being taken to court amid police security, Sisodia told the mediapersons that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would not be able to "stop Arvind Kejriwal's work no matter how much he tries".

"Modi ji jitni koshish kar le lekin Kejriwal ji ke kaam ko rok nahi payenge Delhi me (No matter how much PM Modi tries, he won't be able to stop Kejriwal's work in Delhi)," Sisodia said.

This comes after Rouse Avenue Court on Friday denied bail to Delhi's former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia in a money laundering case in connection with an alleged Excise scam in the national capital.

Special Judge MK Nagpal on Friday dismissed Sisodia's bail plea in the money laundering case being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

Earlier, appearing for Sisodia, Senior Advocate Dayan Krishnan submitted that it is not the job of the ED to tell what happened in the GoM and the cabinet, the job of the ED should be to tell that if any crime was committed, who benefited from it.

The lawyer said that Sisodia cannot be kept in custody only on the basis of speculation. He claimed that no money laundering case is made out against the Aam Aadmi Party leader.

Enforcement Directorate had opposed the bail plea and said "an illegal ecosystem was created in view to give illegal benefits to liquor cartels to get kickbacks".

Appearing for ED, Zohaib Hossain submitted before the Court that all the elements of conspiracy are present here in the matter.

Conspiracy is hatched in secrecy, the policy made in the public domain, submitted ED lawyer and also said every process of activity dealing with proceeds of crime is money laundering.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on March 9 arrested former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia in the liquor policy case, after hours of questioning at Tihar Jail.

Sisodia was arrested by the CBI earlier in its ongoing investigation of a case related to alleged irregularities in the framing and implementation of the excise policy of the GNCTD.