Court Extends Judicial Custody of Manish Sisodia till 18 April

Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court on Saturday extended the judicial custody of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Manish Sisodia until April 18 in connection with a money laundering case linked to the purported excise policy scam.

Special Judge Kaveri Baweja extended Sisodia’s judicial custody following his appearance before the court upon the expiration of the previous judicial custody granted to him on March 19, 2024.

Additionally, his party colleague Sanjay Singh, a co-accused who was recently granted bail by the Supreme Court in the same case, also attended the court proceedings.

Both the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) have asserted that irregularities occurred during the modification of the Delhi Excise Policy. They allege that undue favors were bestowed upon license holders, with license fees either waived or reduced, and licenses extended without proper approval from the competent authority.

According to the probe agencies, the beneficiaries purportedly diverted ‘illegal’ gains to the accused officials and falsified entries in their accounting records to avoid detection.

Sisodia was apprehended by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on February 26, 2023, for his purported involvement in the ‘scam.’

Following this, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested Sisodia in connection with a money-laundering case stemming from the CBI’s FIR on March 9, 2023. Sisodia had resigned from the Delhi cabinet on February 28, 2023.