Delhi High Court denies bail to Manish Sisodia in all cases linked to alleged excise scam

The high court's decision comes a day after the Rouse Avenue court extended Sisodia's judicial custody till May 31.

“This court is of the view that there has been no delay on the part of the prosecution to supply the documents & on the part of the trial court regarding argument on charge. It is not the fault of ED, CBI and the trial court that there was a voluminous record of investigation,” the court said.

The high court also rejected the former Delhi deputy chief minister's contention that it cannot consider the application on merits and called them “meritless”.

According to the judges, the Supreme Court had not curtailed the right of the lower courts to consider the application on merits.

The court said that Sisodia was involved in the crucial destruction of electronic evidence and is an influential person as a powerful leader of the AAP. The court did not rule out the possibility of Sisodia influencing material witnesses.

During the hearing, the court said that Sisodia “orchestrated a scheme where pre-drafted emails” were sent “under the guise of public comment by various people under his direction.

“Corruption in this case originated from the applicant’s desire to frame the policy. The dissemination of false information by portraying it as a form of feedback constitutes corruption,” the court added.

The court also said that Sisodia had failed to make a case for a grant of bail. The high court, however, allowed him to meet his wife under custody every week on the same terms and conditions as decided by the trial court.

The Aam Aadmi Party leader's wife Seema has been suffering from an acute attack of multiple sclerosis, an autoimmune condition of the central nervous system.