Manish Sisodia granted bail in excise policy case, AAP's Saurabh Bharadwaj says big day for Indian democracy

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday granted bail to Manish Sisodia in the excise policy irregularities cases. The order has been delivered by a bench of justices B R Gavai and K V Viswanathan. The court also imposed various conditions including surrendering the passport and not influencing witnesses.

Expressing joy over Sisodia's bail, Delhi Minister and AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj said that it is a big day for Indian democracy.

"This is a Big day for Indian democracy. The country's biggest court has said today will prove to be a milestone... No crime was proven, you kept him in jail for 17 months without proving it. Can the central government return Manish Sisodia's 17 months to his family? The Supreme Court has not put any condition on Manish Sisodia. This means that he can come to his office and resume his work. He will have to go to the police station every Monday and Thursday to mark his presence in Delhi..." said Bharadwaj.

Congress MP Manickam Tagore also congratulated Sisodia for securing bail.

"We all know that ED has been misused by BJP for a long time. They are using it as a political tool to silence the opposition. Manish Sisodia's release has shown that the legal system has taken a long time to give justice to him," he said.

Meanwhile, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal's wife Sunita Kejriwal said, "In God's house, there is delay, not darkness."

AAP MP Swati Maliwal too expressed happiness and said, "I am happy that he got the bail. I hope he will lead the Delhi govt and will work well."

Launching a scathing attack against Manish Sisodia, BJP leader Dushyant Kumar Gautam said that there is no need to be so happy as the Supreme Court has only granted bail. "Manish Sisodia has not been proven guilty but has only been granted bail. He won't be spared."

In February 2023, Sisodia was arrested by the CBI for alleged irregularities in the framing and implementation of now-scrapped Delhi's new excise policy.

The policy was withdrawn amid allegations of foul play by the opposition. Sisodia is currently in judicial custody.

According to the CBI, Sisodia had played the most vital role in the criminal conspiracy and he had been deeply involved in the formulation as well as the implementation of the said policy to ensure the achievement of the objectives of the said conspiracy.