Delhi court allows ED to question Sisodia in custody for 7 days

A Delhi court granted Enforcement Directorate 7 days custody of Aam Aadmi Party leader Manish Sisodia for interrogation in the liquor excise policy case.

The agency had sought 10-day custody to interrogate Manish Sisodia to identify the modus operandi and to confront him with other persons who have been summoned.

The ED told the court that Manish Sisodia had purchased SIM cards and mobile phones in other people’s names.

There was a conspiracy behind framing the liquor excise policy. The conspiracy was coordinated by Vijay Nair, along with others and the Excise policy was framed to allow extraordinary profit margins for wholesalers, ED alleged in court.

Sisodia was presented before the court at 2 pm today after he was arrested by ED yesterday following hours of questioning in Tihar Jail where the AAP leader is lodged. During the hearing, senior Advocate Dayan Krishnan, appearing for Manish Sisodia, opposed ED plea seeking Sisodia’s 10-day custody.

ED told the court that the margin of 12 per cent of wholesale profit margin to private entities was never discussed in the meeting of the group of ministers.

The probe agency apprised the court about the meeting between Vijay Nair and K Kavitha (BRS MLC).

ED stated that accused Butchibabu Gorantla disclosed a political understanding between then Dy CM Manish Sisodia and K Kavitha who also met Vijay Nair. Butchibabu is the former auditor of K Kavitha and is presently on bail.

Countering Sisodia’s counsel, the ED lawyer told the court that if the policy is a matter of executive then there would not be a coal scam or a 2G scam.

The Enforcement Directorate Sisodia on Thursday after a second round of questioning at Tihar Jail in connection with its money laundering investigation that was launched as a follow-up to the CBI case into the alleged irregularities in the formulation of the Delhi liquor excise policy.

Sisodia was arrested by the CBI in the liquor policy case on February 26 and was sent to 14-day judicial custody on March 6.

The ED also made another arrest in the case earlier, as it took Hyderabad-based businessman Arun Ramchandra Pillai into its custody.

The ED, on Thursday, summoned Bharatiya Rashtriya Samiti (BRS) MLC and Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao’s daughter K Kavitha for questioning in the liquor policy case.