Former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, trusted lieutenant of party supremo Arvind Kejriwal, will be back in action as the Supreme Court on Friday granted him bail in corruption and money laundering cases linked to the Delhi excise policy case.
After an incarceration of 17 months, Sisodia walked out of the Tihar jail giving a shot to the AAP in its arm amid a series for setbacks for the party.
Underlining that delay in trial and a long period of pretrial incarceration is a ground to bypass the stringent bail conditions in money laundering cases, the Supreme Court granted bail to Manish Sisodia.
“In case of delay coupled with incarceration for a long period and depending on the nature of the allegations, the right to bail will have to be read into Section 45 of PMLA,” the Court said in a 38-page order.
The bench comprising Justices B R Gavai and K V Viswanathan said that delay in trial must be read into Section 45 since it is “clear that there is not even the remotest possibility of the trial being concluded in the near future.”
“When the trial is not proceeding for reasons not attributable to the accused, the court, unless there are good reasons, would be guided to exercise the power to grant bail,” the bench said.
While speaking to the reporters and party workers gathered outside the jail, Sisodia said that he got bail due to the power of the Constitution and democracy.
Sisodia also expressed confidence that the same power of the Constitution will soon release Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. Kejriwal is currently lodged in Tihar jail in connection with the same case.
Sisodia was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on February 26 last year over irregularities in the Delhi excise policy. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested him in the money laundering case stemming from the CBI FIR on March 9 last year. He resigned from the Delhi cabinet on February 28, 2023.
