NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed an application for bail by former Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi Manish Sisodia in the liquor policy scam case, after finding that a money trail to the tune of Rs 338 cr is prima facie established in the case.
A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and S V N Bhatti said the applicant would be entitled to file a fresh plea if no substantial progress in the trial takes place within three months.
The court also said the trial should conclude within six to eight months.
Sisodia, 51, was arrested by the CBI on February 26, this year.
The CBI had lodged the case on August 17, 2022 under Section 120B IPC and Section 7 of the PC Act, 1988. A total of 15 persons were specifically named in the FIR, including Sisodia, who was the deputy Chief Minister as well as Excise Minister of the Government of NCT of Delhi (GNCTD) for various irregularities in framing and implementation of the now scrapped excise policy for the year 2021-22.
He was separately arrested by the Enforcement Directorate also in a case of money laundering in connection with the scam.
Pronouncing the judgement, Justice Khanna said, "We have referred to the arguments and some of the legal questions but we have not answered most of them. In the analysis there are certain aspects which are doubtful regarding transfer of Rs 338 crore, which is established. We have rejected the bail."
The agencies claimed that AAP used the illicit money obtained through the policy for campaigning in the Goa assembly elections. They also claimed that AAP was a beneficiary of the kickbacks received from stakeholders who got liquor licences as part of a quid pro quo.
During the hearing, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, for Sisodia, had contended that there was no allegation of bribery against his client in the CBI predicate offence under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
