A Delhi court on Monday sent Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia in five-day custody of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the Delhi excise policy case. Mr. Sisodia, who was arrested on Sunday, will remain in remand till March 4.
While seeking Mr. Sisodia’s remand, Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) for CBI, Pankaj Gupta, maintained that the investigation revealed that the accused verbally directed the Secretary to create a new Cabinet note to alter the excise policy.
“He was heading the Group of Ministers constituted by the Cabinet for the excise policy... The profit margin was enhanced from 5% to 12%. He could not explain why the changes were made,” Mr. Gupta said.
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The team of lawyers, including senior advocate Dayan Krishnan, Siddharth Aggarwal and Mohit Mathur, argued on behalf of Mr. Sisodia and maintained that the CBI’s grounds for remand were not tenable in law.
They also told the court that the investigating agency’s arguments about profit margins were approved by Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena, the complainant in the matter.
‘Not cooperating’
Mr. Gupta further said that Mr. Sisodia had changed his phone several times, destroyed three phones and couldn’t give any specific reason for the same. The investigation agency also alleged that he is not cooperating with them in the probe.
“Do I need to keep my old phones in anticipation that one day the agency will arrest me and will ask for the same,” questioned Mr. Mathur on behalf of Mr. Sisodia.
The counsel for the Deputy CM also said that the allegation of non-cooperation by the CBI is baseless as their client had participated in the investigation, whenever he was called.
“You cannot seek remand of a person based on the fact that he did not answer a question in the manner you wanted to hear,” the counsel said.
Mr. Mathur further argued that the CBI’s investigating officer wants to go behind what an elected government wants to do, and the constitutional functionary (L-G) has approved it.
He also noted that the increase of profit margin from 5% to 12% was already included in the note sent to the L-G, and no changes were suggested by him.
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‘Timing of arrest questionable’
Advocate Aggarwal alleged that the timing of the arrest made by the CBI is questionable as Mr. Sisodia, who is also the Finance Minister, was going to present the Budget in a few days.
“This case is an assault not only on Sisodia but also on the institution. The remand will send a wrong message,” he added.
Ahead of producing AAP leader Manish Sisodia, heavy police was deployed outside the Rouse Avenue District Court, in Delhi on February 27, 2023.
Special judge, Rouse Avenue court, M.K. Naglap who allowed the remand, directed the Deputy CM will have to be produced before the court at 2 p.m. on Saturday (March 4).
The CBI on Sunday arrested Mr. Sisodia following his over seven-hour questioning in connection with the allegation of irregularities in the formulation and implementation of the now-scrapped 2021-22 excise policy case.
The move triggered a sharp reaction from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) which accused the BJP of getting Mr. Sisodia arrested in a “false” case.
