Delhi excise policy case: Manish Sisodia sent to Tihar till March 20

Former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia will be lodged in central jail number-1 of Tihar Prison here after a court remanded him to judicial custody till March 20 in connection with the excise policy case, according to officials.

Sisodia was produced before special judge M K Nagpal earlier on Monday on the expiry of his seven-day custodial interrogation. The CBI told the court that it did not require the custody of the senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader for now.

A jail official said Sisodia was brought to Tihar following the court order and he would be lodged in jail number-1 after the completion of the due formalities.

Meanwhile, the AAP said the CBI had no grounds to seek Sisodia's further interrogation in the excise policy case.

“There was no hearing on his bail plea. The court had to consider two options — either send him to judicial custody or extend his police custody. The CBI had no questions, no grounds to seek his interrogation. They have no documentary evidence,” AAP national spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj claimed.

Attacking the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), he said its spokespersons have been alleging on TV debates that the excise policy case is an open-and-shut case and showing fake documents to claim that there was a scam.

“If they have evidence, why don't they hand it over to the CBI,” the AAP leader asked.

The court allowed Sisodia to carry the Bhagavad Gita, spectacles and medicines, etc, to jail and directed the Tihar jail authorities to consider his request to be allowed to do Vipassana meditation.

“Everyone knows that he likes to write. He has also written a book ‘Shiksha’ that is widely popular and is read by people to know about Delhi’s education revolution. He has been a practitioner of Vipassana and the court has asked the jail superintendent to consider his request. 

It is a good time to work on oneself," Bharadwaj said.

He said the court will hear Sisodia's bail plea on March 10.

"If he is granted bail, his judicial custody will end," the AAP spokesperson added.

The CBI had arrested Sisodia last week in connection with alleged corruption in the formulation and implementation of the now-scrapped Delhi liquor policy for 2021-22.