Supreme Court Delays Decision on Manish Sisodia’s Bail Plea in Excise Policy Case
The Supreme Court of India has postponed the decision on AAP leader Manish Sisodia’s bail plea until August 5. Sisodia is challenging a Delhi High Court order that denied his bail in a money laundering case related to Delhi’s excise policy.
Additional Solicitor General SV Raju requested more time for the Enforcement Directorate to file a reply, which the court granted until Thursday. Meanwhile, the CBI has already submitted its response, which needs to be recorded by the court.
A bench of Justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan adjourned the matter after hearing preliminary objections from ASG SV Raju, who argued that the same order cannot be challenged twice. Senior Advocate AM Singhvi opposed this submission.
Manish Sisodia, the former Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi, was arrested in February 2023 for alleged irregularities in the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy. He is currently in judicial custody and is seeking to revive his bail plea due to delays in the trial process.
On June 4, the Supreme Court had allowed Sisodia to revive his plea after the final charge sheet was filed. Sisodia’s plea was initially dismissed after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta assured that the investigation would be completed by July 3, 2024, and the trial would proceed immediately thereafter.
Doubts Revealed
Supreme Court -: The Supreme Court is the highest court in India. It makes important decisions about laws and justice in the country.
Manish Sisodia -: Manish Sisodia is a leader of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and was the Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi. He is involved in a legal case about money laundering.
Bail Plea -: A bail plea is a request made to the court to release someone from jail while they wait for their trial. Manish Sisodia is asking the court to let him out of jail until his trial starts.
Excise Policy -: Excise policy refers to the rules and regulations about taxes on goods like alcohol. The case against Sisodia is related to changes in these rules in Delhi.
Delhi High Court -: The Delhi High Court is a court in Delhi that deals with important legal cases. It had earlier denied Sisodia’s request for bail.
Money Laundering -: Money laundering is when people try to hide where money came from, usually because it was earned illegally. Sisodia is accused of being involved in this.
Enforcement Directorate -: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is a government agency in India that investigates financial crimes like money laundering.
CBI -: The CBI, or Central Bureau of Investigation, is another important government agency in India that investigates serious crimes.
Arrested -: Arrested means being taken by the police because they think you did something wrong. Sisodia was arrested in February 2023.
Trial Process -: The trial process is the series of steps in court to decide if someone is guilty or not. Sisodia’s trial is taking a long time, so he wants bail until it starts.