MANISH SISODIA: On August 09, 2024, Friday, former Deputy Delhi Chief Minister was released from Tihar Jail, New Delhi after the Supreme Court granted him bail on the cases registered against him by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
Sisodia was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) under the Prevention of Corruption Act on February 26, 2023 but he was released soon. On March 09, 2023, he was again arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. The Delhi High Court dismissed his bail application in May 2023. The AAP leader then moved to the Supreme Court and on October 10,2023, the supreme court dismissed his application even as it raised doubts about some of the charges the ED had leveled against him. The court allowed Sisodia to file a fresh bail application if the trial was drawn out. On June 04,2023, a vacation bench of the court refused to entertain Sisodia’s bail pleas after the government assured that the charge sheet would be filed within a month. The AAP leader is now seeking bail on the ground that the start of the trial had been delayed.
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Manish Sisodia thanked the Supreme Court and said, “Only the Constitution can save a common man and this power of the Constitution will also ensure the release of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal.” AAP’s Sanjay Singh hailed the court’s decision to free Sisodia calling it a ‘victory of truth’ and a ‘slap on the face of Centre’s dictatorship’. Gopal Rai, also addressed a press conference, adding that “this is not just bail, but BJP’s defeat.”
Another minister Saurabh Bharadwaj had earlier said, “Without any proof, any witnesses Manish Sisodia was arrested. The court has said that a game of snakes and ladders is going on in the country right now. The court had said that within six months the trial would begin but now we are in August and the trial has still not started. The court also said that if the trial did not begin within six to eight months then he should be granted bail. The court also said something very important: when it comes to bail, each and every citizen matters and that bail is a matter of personal right. Do our High Court and lower courts not understand this?”
Delhi Minister Atishi Marlena also mentioned that the Supreme Court has clearly shown the kind of injustice that has happened with Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader, especially former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia. “He has been incarcerated for 17 months. The Supreme Court has very clearly underlined the fact that bail is the rule and jail is the exception. It also raises a lot of questions about the entire system of arrests by agencies,” she commented on the day Mr. Sisodia was granted bail in the Delhi liquor policy cases. She said it is also a big win for the children of Delhi government schools, as Mr. Sisodia also held the portfolio of the education minister.
Therefore, with Sisodia, a major pawn of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) back from jail, it would be interesting to see the plan of action of the party in the future.
