SC gives bail to Manish Sisodia

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday gave bail to AAP leader Manish Sisodia who has been in jail for 17 months, sharply pulling up the lower courts and saying his long incarceration without trial had deprived him of the right to speedy justice.

A bench of Justices B R Gavai and K V Viswanathan said in a scathing verdict it is high time trial courts and high courts recognise the principle that “bail is rule and jail is exception”. “As observed time and again, prolonged incarceration before being pronounced guilty of an offence should not be permitted to become punishment without trial,” the bench said while describing Sisodia as a man with “deep roots in society”.

The former Delhi deputy chief minister was arrested by both the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in corruption and money laundering cases linked to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam. With the apex court granting him bail in both cases, Sisodia is likely to come out of jail today after furnishing bail bond of Rs 10 lakh along with two sureties of a like amount.

Listing the conditions for his bail, the judges said he will have to surrender his passport to the special trial court and not make any attempt to either influence witnesses or tamper with evidence. Besides, he will have to report to the investigating officer every Monday and Thursday between 10-11 am.

“We find that, on account of a long period of incarceration running for around 17 months and the trial even not having been commenced, the appellant (Sisodia) has been deprived of his right to speedy trial,” the bench said.