New Delhi: The Supreme Court granted bail to Aam Aadmi Party leader and former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Monday, serving the leader a major relief in the controversial Delhi liquor policy case, IANS reported.
Pronouncing the verdict, a bench headed by Justice B.R. Gavai said that Sisodia had been deprived of his right to a speedy trial, considering the fact that he suffered incarceration of more than 17 months and the trial in the case has not yet commenced.
"In the matter of liberty, every day counts," remarked Justice Gavai-led Bench.
On Tuesday, the Bench, also comprising Justice K.V. Viswanathan, reserved its judgment after hearing the oral arguments raised by Additional Solicitor General (ASG) S.V. Raju, representing the central agencies, and senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who appeared on Sisodia's behalf.
During the hearing, the CBI and the ED told the apex court that a Rs 100 crore bribe was demanded by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for the Goa elections, out of which Rs 45 crore has been traced in the course of the investigation.
"A Rs 100 crore bribe was demanded to be used for Goa elections. Out of these, we have been able to trace 45 crore. We have digital evidence. There is a lot of evidence," the ASG said, adding that Sisodia was in charge of the Excise Department of the Delhi government and co-accused Vijay Nair was tasked to receive the kickbacks.
"They wanted to make money out of this exercise. There is evidence to show that this particular gentleman (Sisodia) engineered emails and told certain interns to write a particular type of email," Raju said.
On the other hand, Singhvi contended that the AAP leader has been in custody for 17 months and should be granted bail on the grounds of delay in the conclusion of the trial.
Singhvi also prayed that Sisodia be released on interim bail. He said his wife has "a very, very bad medical condition" and is "virtually like a vegetable".