Court sends Sisodia to CBI custody for 5 days | Latest News India - Hindustan Times
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Court sends Sisodia to CBI custody for 5 days

By, New Delhi
Feb 28, 2023 12:34 AM IST

Sisodia, the second minister of the Capital’s elected government to be arrested by a federal agency, holds 18 portfolios and his arrest has triggered anger and protests from his party.

Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia will be in the custody of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) till March 4, a Delhi court ordered on Monday, accepting the federal agency’s request to question the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader over allegations of corruption that his party says are fabricated.

Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia.(ANI)
Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia.(ANI)

The agency contended that Sisodia, being investigated for alleged impropriety in clearing the 2021-22 excise policy, was not cooperating and that it had “incriminating evidence” with which he needs to be confronted.

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Also read: After Manish Sisodia's arrest, immediate challenges before Arvind Kejriwal

The minister’s lawyer said there cannot be “self-incrimination” and not responding with an answer the agency wants cannot be construed as lack of cooperation, seeking to rebut the CBI stand. The defence lawyers also said the policy was approved by the then lieutenant governor (LG), who did not object to tweaks that are now part of the allegations.

The Rouse Avenue Court special judge MK Nagpal allowed the agency’s plea.

Sisodia, the second minister of the Capital’s elected government to be arrested by a federal agency, holds 18 portfolios and his arrest has triggered anger and protests from his party.

“The leader who has been working hard for the development of the children has been arrested by CBI. Manish Sisodia’s house was thoroughly raided but nothing was found. This is happening to divert the attention of the public from outrage over the Adani issue,” said senior AAP leader Sanjay Singh.

The party organised protests in Delhi, Chandigarh, Bhopal, Jaipur, Srinagar, Jammu, Kolkata, Mumbai and other cities against Sisodia’s arrest, and found support from several rivals of BJP, including the Rashtriya Janata Dal, the Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS), Communist Party of India (Marxist) and leaders of the Congress -- all of whom deplored the alleged “misuse” of federal law enforcement agencies by the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Also read: '80% of leaders detained, emergency-like situation': AAP after Sisodia’s arrest

The BJP hit out at AAP over protests, calling it “a drama” and show of “anarchy”. “The CBI (Central Bureau Investigation) is acting lawfully against the corrupt but the AAP does not seem to believe in law, Constitution and the people,” BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia told a press conference here.

Sisodia’s arrest is connected to the excise policy in which the agency claims kickbacks were paid. The policy was rolled out for the 2021-22 financial year in November 2021, marking the exit of the government from retail sales of alcohol and allowing private companies to bid for licenses. The objective, the Delhi government said, was to improve the buying experience for citizens by allowing market competition to raise standards.

But the policy was scrapped when LG VK Saxena asked for an investigation, citing a report by the chief secretary who alleged irregularities. The AAP and the Delhi government have rejected the charges, alleging it to be a ploy by the BJP-controlled Union government to target its rival.

It is the most high-profile in a series of confrontations between the Union and the Delhi government -- the other major case involves the arrest of Delhi minister Satyender Jain, in addition to relatively milder, but still significantly acerbic exchanges between the two sides, especially since Saxena took over as the Centre’s representative in a complicated system with two power centres.

People familiar with the latest round of interrogation in excise probe said they are focusing on alleged influence of a “South Group”, which involved several businessmen, politicians and middlemen, who were part of the formulation and implementation of the now-scrapped policy.

The agency told the court its officials recovered several pieces of incriminating evidence during the course of the investigation and needed Sisodia in custody to be able to confront him with it.

The agency said its officials recovered two draft policies wherein profit margins (of liquor sale) seemed to have increased from 5% to 12%, and Sisodia could not satisfactorily explain why.

Sisodia’s lawyers refuted this contention by pointing out that this change was part of the note sent to former lieutenant governor Anil Baijal, who did not raise any objection to it and signed off on the policy.

CBI also alleged that the wholesale eligibility criteria was increased from 100 crore to 500 crore, a move ostensibly meant to weed out smaller businesses. The entire case, the agency said, revolved around profit margins and policies created in a secretive manner. Sisodia himself, CBI alleged, submitted only one phone during the investigation and destroyed three other phones.

However, senior advocates Siddharth Aggarwal, Mohit Mathur and Dayan Krishnan, appearing for Sisodia, opposed the remand application moved by CBI.

Krishnan submitted that the grounds for remand were not tenable in the eyes of law and argued that Sisodia not answering questions the way CBI wants him to cannot be grounds for remand. “Somebody is not answering a question the way you want to hear it cannot be grounds for remand,” he said.

Mathur pointed out that Sisodia was cooperating with the investigation. He argued that the lieutenant governor (LG) suggested changes in the policy, which were implemented, and Sisodia also tried to keep everything in the open.

He added that the policy was sent to LG in the end and he had not objected to the policy.

Aggarwal also argued that the sections invoked against Sisodia are punishable with only up to 7 years of imprisonment, that the arrest itself was done with an ulterior motive, and that this case is an assault on individuals and the institution.

On Sunday, Sisodia was questioned for about eight hours before being formally arrested.

After a medical check-up, CBI produced the AAP leader before the Rouse Avenue Courts on Monday.

The court, after hearing both sides, sent the deputy CM to CBI custody till 2pm on March 4.

Leaders of Congress, a party that is in intense rivalry with AAP in Delhi, appeared to back the criticism against BJP, without specifically citing Sisodia’s case. “@INCIndia has always held the belief that institutions like ED, CBI & Income Tax Dept have become instruments of political vendetta & harassment under Modi Sarkar. These institutions have lost all professionalism. Opposition leaders are selectively targeted to destroy their reputation,” said Congress leader Jairam Ramesh in a tweet.

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