SC resumes hearing on bail plea of AAP leader Manish Sisodia

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday resumed hearing on the bail plea of Aam Aadmi Party leader Manish Sisodia in liquor policy irregularities matter.

Senior Advocate AM Singhvi took the Supreme Court through the evidence related to the case and told the apex court that the allegations were hearsay and none of them pointed to the petitioner.

He said that Vijay Nair is not an associate of the petitioner. Notably, he is one of the accused in the Delhi excise policy case.

The money laundering case has arisen from a CBI FIR which was lodged after Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena recommended a CBI probe into the new excise policy in 2021 which was later scrapped.

Singhvi also apprised SC about a news report related to the court asking the Enforcement Directorate why AAP was not made an accused.

Supreme Court on Wednesday asked the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to explain why the political party, which was allegedly the beneficiary of the Delhi Excise Policy 'scam', has not been made an accused in the money laundering case. However, the Supreme Court clarified that yesterday's query was not meant to implicate anyone but a legal question if 'A' and 'B' are implicated and 'C' is a beneficiary, then why 'C' can't be prosecuted in the matter.

SV Raju, arguing for CBI, said that Delhi liquor policy was formed in such a manner to deliberately benefit wholesalers, who have paid the prime amount.

He also took the court through the differences between the old and the new excise policy and said that the policy was allegedly modified to make particular persons the wholesalers. A bench comprising Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice SVN Bhatti is hearing the matter.