CBI Court remands Deputy CM to CBI Custody in Delhi Excise Liquor Policy Scam

Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi, Manish Sisodia, has been sent to CBI detention until March 4th following his arrest by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in relation to an alleged corruption case. The charges relate to the excise policy for the year 2021-22, which has subsequently been cancelled. The CBI had demanded five days of detention to examine Sisodia, which Special CBI Judge MK Nagpal allowed.

Previously, the CBI reported that a former auditor of BRS MLC, a Hyderabad-based Chartered Accountant named Butchibabu Gorantla, had been arrested in connection with the case.

Sisodia’s lawyer, Senior Advocate Dayan Krishnan, stated that his client has been collaborating with the CBI throughout the probe. He contended in court that the remand was unwarranted and that the court should guarantee that the central agency obeyed the legal mandates of Sections 41 and 41A CrPC.

Senior Advocate Mohit Mathur, who also spoke for Sisodia, argued that the policy had been discussed and deliberated over before going into effect, leaving no possibility for conspiracy. Senior Advocate Siddharth Aggarwal, who also represented Sisodia, questioned the timing of the arrest and called the case a “attack on an individual as well as the institution.”

Sisodia was apprehended on Sunday after an 8-hour questioning. He was earlier questioned on October 17th, 2018, and the chargesheet in the case was filed on November 25th, 2022. Despite being confronted with proof, Sisodia gave evasive answers and refused to participate with the probe, according to CBI officers.

According to the CBI FIR, Sisodia and others were involved in “recommending and adopting decisions” on the Excise Policy 2021-22 “without the approval of competent authorities with the intention of extending undue favours to the licensee post-tender.”