Manish Sisodia Sent To ED Remand Till March 17 In Delhi Excise Policy Case

New Delhi: Aam Aadmi Party leader and former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia was sent to a 7-day Enforcement Directorate remand till March 17 in the Delhi excise policy case on Friday (March 10) after a court hearing. During the hearing, the ED requested 10-day custody of Sisodia, stating that they needed to investigate the modus operandi of the scam and confront Sisodia with other individuals involved.

The ED claimed that private entities received large benefits from a policy formulated to establish a cartel to operate 30% of the liquor business in Delhi, reported IANS. The ED accused Sisodia of granting relaxations in the excise policy to restaurants, including reducing the legal drinking age, after meetings with the restaurant association.

The agency also claimed that Sisodia destroyed evidence, and used phones purchased by others with SIM cards that were not in his name and that he had been evasive from the start.

What Manish Sisodia's lawyers said

Senior advocates Krishanan, Mathur, and Aggarwal argued for Sisodia, claiming that he was not summoned by the ED and that his arrest was illegal since the law was not complied with. Sisodia was arrested by the ED under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) following his second round of questioning at the Tihar jail.

Much like the CBI, the ED claimed that Sisodia was "evasive" in his replies during the questioning and was "not cooperating in the probe."

He was sent to judicial custody till March 20 after a seven-day remand with the CBI, during which heavy security was present inside and outside the Rouse Avenue Courts premises.  

Reacting to the recent developments in the case, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had taken to Twitter on Thursday and said, "First, Manish was arrested by the CBI. CBI did not find any evidence and no money was found during the raids. Tomorrow there is a bail hearing. He would have been released tomorrow. So ED arrested him today. They have only one aim -- to keep Manish inside at all costs by slapping false cases. People are watching. They will reply."