The Delhi High Court rejected Tuesday former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia’s bail pleas in relation to the money laundering and corruption allegations made by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), both in connection with the Delhi excise policy scam case.

The bench, led by Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma, ruled that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader’s request for bail was not justified at this stage. The court emphasised that the AAP leader had not presented sufficient evidence to support his case, stating further:

Corruption, in this case, originated from the applicant’s desire to frame the policy. The dissemination of false information by portraying it as a form of feedback constitutes corruption…..The case at hand is a grave misuse of power and breach of public trust by the applicant, who was serving as Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi at the relevant point.

The former Deputy CM was denied bail shortly after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) listed AAP as an accused in the supplementary charge sheet. The allegations involve money laundering, corruption, and discrepancies in the formulation and execution of the excise policy.

Sisodia faced allegations of amending the Delhi excise policy 2021 to favour a specific group of liquor dealers known as the South Group. The CBI first arrested Sisodia in February 2023 in response to these allegations, and the ED then arrested him again in March 2023. The ED chargesheet declared Sisodia a “key conspirator” in the case.

On February 28, 2023, the AAP leader resigned from the Delhi government. The Delhi High Court denied Sisodia’s bail requests in the CBI and ED cases on May 30 and July 3, respectively, later in the year.

In response to an appeal filed by Sisodia, The Supreme Court of India refused to overturn the High Court’s ruling on October 30, 2023, stating that the claim of the investigating agencies that a small number of wholesale spirits distributors obtained “windfall gains” of Rs 338 crore was “tentatively supported” by material and proof.

The New Delhi Excise Policy 2021–22 was implemented by the Delhi government on November 17, 2021. The policy’s main objectives were to generate maximum revenue for the state and address the issue of counterfeit alcohol sales. The government scrapped the policy in September 2022 due to allegations of corruption.