A Delhi court today extended Manish Sisodia’s custody by five days after the Enforcement Directorate requested an extra week to investigate accusations against him in the Delhi liquor case.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader remarked that the Enforcement Directorate questioned him “only for 30 minutes to one hour every day” and that he should not be detained any longer.
Previously, Manish Sisodia complained to the court that the CBI asked him the “same questions every day,” and the agency was ordered not to ask him the same questions again.
The former Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi was also permitted to sign checks for household expenses by the court.
Manish Sisodia has been imprisoned since February 26, when he was arrested by the CBI on suspicion of corruption in connection with a new alcohol policy that was discontinued after only nine months.
The Enforcement Directorate is looking into money-laundering accusations in connection with the case.
Mr. Sisodia questioned the work that had been done up to this point as the investigation agency sought seven more days of custody today.
“If, after seven months of investigation, they seek further custody, they must show what they have,” Mr. Sisodia’s lawyer said in court.
“I am against the custody extension because the CBI’s investigation is being carried out by the Enforcement Directorate. The ED can only investigate the proceeds of the crime, not the crime itself,” Mr. Sisodia contended.
“They only question me for 30 minutes to an hour. Only yesterday, the questioning lasted until late at night.”
“That’s because, in CBI’s case, he complained of mental harassment,” the ED responded.
In making their case, the Enforcement Directorate stated that Mr. Sisodia had changed their phones several times.
“The Enforcement Directorate has raised the issue of phone destruction once more. CBI and ED raised this in their initial remand application. Do they want more remands for the same offense? What have they been up to since the FIR was filed? Did they just start looking into it now?” Mr. Sisodia’s lawyer stated.
According to AAP, the CBI was unable to find anything implicating him during Mr. Sisodia’s interrogation and was willing to release him on bail, so another agency was brought in to pursue a new case. “They want to keep Manish Sisodia in jail at all costs,” the party leader said.
Mr. Sisodia, the AAP’s second-in-command, has been charged with corruption in a new alcohol policy that was abolished after Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena recommended a CBI investigation. Following the implementation of a new policy in November 2021, the Arvind Kejriwal government has been accused of providing illegal benefits to liquor licensees.
AAP and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal have strongly denied the allegations, claiming a political witch-hunt in preparation for the 2024 national election.
Mr. Sisodia told reporters that he was “going away for seven-eight months” when he arrived at the CBI office for questioning.
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