Delhi liquor policy scam: SC relaxes Sisodia's bail condition

New Delhi, Dec 11 (IANS) The Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed a plea filed by senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia seeking relaxation of the bail condition requiring him to report to the Investigating Officer semi-weekly.

A bench headed by Justice B.R. Gavai decided to delete the bail condition requiring Sisodia to report to the Investigating Officer every Monday and Thursday between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m.

“We do not find the said condition is necessary and the same is therefore deleted. However, it is directed that the applicant (Sisodia) shall regularly attend the trial court,” ordered Justice Gavai-led Bench.

Earlier on Monday, the Bench, also comprising Justice K.V. Viswanathan, agreed to list on December 11 the plea moved by Sisodia after senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi mentioned it.

In August this year, the Supreme Court granted bail to the senior AAP leader, saying that he cannot be kept behind bars for an unlimited period of time in the hope of a speedy completion of trial in the alleged excise policy case.

Pronouncing the verdict on Sisodia’s bail pleas, a Bench presided over by Justice Gavai had said: "In the present case, in ED as well as CBI matter, 493 witnesses have been named and the case involves thousands of pages of documents and over lakh pages of digitised documents."

"It is thus clear that there is not even a remotest possibility of the trial being concluded in the near future. In our view, keeping the appellant behind bars for an unlimited period of time in the hope of speedy completion of the trial would deprive him of the Fundamental Right of Liberty given under Article 21 of the Constitution."

The Bench, also comprising Justice Viswanathan, held that on account of a long period of incarceration running for around 17 months and the trial not having commenced, Sisodia had been deprived of his right to a speedy trial.

Rejecting the contention that Sisodia, if granted bail, may tamper with the evidence, the Supreme Court had said that the prosecution case majorly stems from documentary evidence, which has already been seized by the CBI and the ED.

The SC refused to accept central agencies’ submission that Sisodia should not be allowed to visit the Delhi Chief Minister’s Office or Delhi Secretariat.

"The appellant (Sisodia) shall surrender his passport with the Special Court. The appellant shall report to the Investigating Officer every Monday and Thursday between 10-11 a.m. and the appellant shall not make any attempt either to influence the witnesses or to tamper with the evidence," it said.

In an earlier judgment delivered on October 30 last year, the top court had denied bail to the former Deputy Chief Minister but said that if the trial proceeds slowly in the next three months, he may apply for bail afresh.

Recently, the Delhi High Court issued notice on Sisodia’s plea against the trial court’s decision to take cognisance of the prosecution complaint filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the alleged liquor policy scam case.

In his petition filed before the Delhi HC, Sisodia contended that the trial court took cognisance of the alleged offences under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) without any prior sanction having been obtained by the ED for prosecution.

The plea added that the trial court should have not taken cognisance of the ED's prosecution complaint without sanction since he held a public office at the time of the commission of the alleged money laundering offence.

The matter is slated to be heard next on December 20, along with a similar petition filed by AAP supremo and former Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal seeking a stay of trial proceedings on the grounds of lack of sanction.