Former Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi Manish Sisodia granted bail by the SC

Sisodia was in jail for the past 1.5 years for involvement in the liquor scam

New Delhi – Former Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi Manish Sisodia has been granted bail by the Supreme Court in the case of money laundering related to the liquor scam in Delhi. SC remarked that ‘The Trial Court and the High Court should realise that it is not appropriate to keep him in the jail for such a long time. Bail is a rule and jail is an exception.’ The bail was granted for the bail bonds worth Rs 10 lakh. The matter was heard on 9^thAugust.

Enforcement Directorate (ED) lawyer had demanded that Sisodia be asked to apply in the Trial Court for the bail. The Court while dismissing the demand, observed that ‘The grant of bail was not a ‘snake-and-ladder game’ and it would be a ‘travesty of justice’ to relegate the bail plea to the Trial Court.’ The Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is also in jail for the past 3 months. He has been given judicial custody till 20^thAugust.

What is the liquor scam case ?

The Aam Aadmi Party Government in Delhi had introduced a new excise duty policy. Chief Minister Kejriwal had expressed the belief that this policy would generate crores of rupees and curb the liquor mafia. Due to this, all Government and private liquor shops were closed and new tenders were issued. Earlier, there were 720 liquor shops in the State. Among them, there were only 260 private shops. But after the new policy, all the shops went to private traders. This led to the allegations of malpractice in implementing this policy. Deputy Chief Minister Sisodia, a few other leaders, as well as Chief Minister Kejriwal were arrested after the subsequent investigation revealed their involvement in the scam.