Delhi Excise Policy: Delhi’s Rouse Avenue court is hearing ED’s plea seeking the 10-day remand of former deputy CM Manish Sisodia in the now-scrapped Delhi liquor policy citing non-cooperation from the AAP leader. The court will also hear Sisodia’s bail plea in the case registered with the CBI today.
In the court, ED argues that a profit margin of 12 percent was given, which was different from the opinion of the expert committee. The judge asks how much it should have been, to which the ED lawyer says ‘6 percent’.
ED says, “We have material that this was done at the behest of the arrested accused (Sisodia). There was also a violation of the system fixed for giving license for the sale of liquor. Cartels were formed. Some selected people benefited from it”
The agency claimed that the CA associated with Sisodia has also disclosed some things. ED alleged that the AAP MLA is not cooperating in the investigation, an argument based on which the CBI had earlier sought Sisodia’s custody.
Court asks ED’s lawyer how can the agency say that a 12 percent margin was recommended by GOM to which Ed said that the former excise commissioner and some other people have said this.
“This has also been confirmed by the statement of the Secretary. The draft of this recommendation was given to C Arvind by the accused…Arvind has told that in March 2021, Sisodia called him to the CM’s house and gave him this 30-page draft,” ED’s lawyer added. It was said to give wholesale license directly to the applicants instead of drawing a lottery, the agency argued.
Sisodia was arrested by CBI on February 26 and was sent to the agency’s remand for five days. He was then again sent to the CBI’s custody after the agency sought more time to confront Sisodia with critical witnesses in the case. He was then arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in the money laundering case it registered in connection with the now-withdrawn excise policy.
Sisodia is being held in judicial custody until March 20th.
Earlier, the court said that it will consider the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) plea seeking custody of Manish Sisodia in the matter for questioning him at 2 pm later today after Manish Sisodia is presented before it, reported ANI. The ED has sought Sisodia’s custody for 10 days.
Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal on Friday likened Sisodia with Prahlad, bhakt of Lord Vishnu, and tweeted, “Hiranyakashyap had considered himself as God. He made many efforts to stop Prahlad from the path of God, committed atrocities. Even today some people consider themselves as God. Prahlad, who served the country and children, was put in jail. But they could not stop Prahlad then, nor will they be able to stop him now.”
हिरण्यकश्यप अपने आपको भगवान् मान बैठा था।
उसने प्रह्लाद को ईश्वर की राह से रोकने के अनेक प्रयत्न किये, ज़ुल्म कियेआज भी कुछ लोग अपने आपको भगवान मान बैठे हैं। देश और बच्चों की सेवा करने वाले प्रह्लाद को कारागृह में डाल दिया
पर न प्रहलाद को वो तब रोक पाये थे, न अब रोक पायेंगे
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) March 10, 2023
The ED arrested the former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister after questioning him for two days about alleged money laundering while developing the new liquor policy, which was scrapped after Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to look into it.
The ED arrest complicates matters for Sisodia, who is seeking bail from the CBI court.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said the ED operation is intended at keeping his party member Sisodia “inside at whatever cost”. Manish was first arrested by the CBI. “The CBI did not find any evidence, no money was found in the raid. There is a bail hearing tomorrow. Manish would have been released tomorrow. So today ED arrested him. They have only one aim – to keep Manish inside at all cost by creating new fake cases every day. The people are watching. The people will answer,” Kejriwal tweeted.
