SC Relaxes Bail Condition In Excise Cases For Manish Sisodia

New Delhi: AAP leader and former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia won't have to report to the investigating officer twice a week in the corruption and money laundering cases related to the Delhi excise policy after the Supreme Court relaxed his bail conditions on Wednesday.

A bench of Justices B R Gavai and K V Viswanathan eased the conditions, calling them unnec-essary. "The petitioner shall regularly attend the trial," it said. The apex court on November 22 agreed to hear Sisodia's pleas and issued notices to the CBI and the ED seeking their responses.

On August 9, the apex court granted him bail in both cases linked to the alleged 2021-22 Delhi excise policy case, saying a 17-month long incarceration without trial deprived him of his right to a speedy trial. The apex court then imposed conditions, including his reporting to the investigat-ing officer every Monday and Thursday between 10 and 11 am. During the hearing on November 22, Singhvi argued the AAP leader had appeared before the investigating officers 60 times.

Sisodia was arrested by both the CBI and the ED in the corruption and money laundering cases, respectively, linked to the alleged excise scam. He was arrested by the CBI on February 26, 2023, for purported irregularities in the formulation and implementation of the now scrapped Delhi excise policy 2021-22. The following month, the ED arrested him in the money laundering case stemming from the CBI FIR on March 9, 2023. He resigned from the Delhi cabinet on Feb-ruary 28, 2023.

Sisodia has denied the allegations.