CBI summons Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia in excise policy case
Delhi Excise Policy Case Update: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has called Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia for questioning in the Delhi Excise Policy case on February 19. The chargesheet in the case was filed nearly three months ago.
However, Manish Sisodia does not figure in the chargesheet in the Delhi Excise policy case so far. Businessmen Vijay Nair and Abhishek Boinpally, already behind bars, are among seven accused named in the chargesheet.
It is alleged that the Delhi government's excise policy to grant licences to liquor traders benefitted certain dealers, who had allegedly paid bribes for it —the charge strongly denied by the AAP.
It has been alleged that irregularities were committed and modifications were made in the Delhi Excise Policy. Undue favours were extended to the licensees. It has also been alleged that illegal gains on account of these acts were diverted to public servants concerned by private parties and false entries were made in their books of accounts.
Earlier, on February 16, the Rouse Avenue Court rejected the bail petitions of five accused, who were arrested in the money laundering probe emerging out of the Delhi government's now scrapped Excise Policy.
While rejecting the bail plea, the Rouse Avenue Court noted that none of the accused deserved to be released on bail in this case at this stage of proceedings as the allegations made against them are quite serious.
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Special Judge MK Nagpal, while rejecting the bail plea of Vijay Nair, Abhishek Bonipally, Sameer Mahendru, Sarath P Reddy and Binoy Babu, observed that the accused did not even satisfy the triple test as laid down in the case of P Chidambaram vs Directorate of Enforcement being relied upon by defence counsels.
- With inputs from agencies
