Excise policy case: Delhi High Court denies bail to businessman

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday denied bail to businessman Amandeep Singh Dhall in the Delhi excise policy case [Amandeep Singh Dhall v Central Bureau of Investigation]..Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma rejected Dhall's plea seeking bail in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) case.The Court noted that there are allegations that Dhall and his father had paid a bribe of ₹5 crore to an official of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to keep their names off in the case which shows that he can influence witnesses and tamper with evidence.The Court noted that many of the witnesses in this case were well known to Dhall and he was in contact with influential leaders of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Delhi for hatching the conspiracy.“Considering the overall facts and circumstances of the case, seriousness of the allegations and the evidence collected by the prosecution, and when charges are yet to be framed and evidence is yet to be recorded, and the fact that an FIR already stands registered against the applicant for paying bribe to an officer of Directorate of Enforcement for getting his name removed from the present case, this Court does not find any ground for grant of bail to the applicant, at this stage,” Justice Sharma said..The CBI arrested Dhall on April 18, 2023. He was the Managing Director of Brindco Sales Private Limited, a wholesale L-1 licensee. The trial court dismissed his regular bail plea on June 9, 2023.As per the allegations, Dhall was involved in the formulation of Delhi liquor policy from the very beginning and was in close contact with co-accused Vijay Nair. He was allegedly arranging meetings of Nair with the officials/representatives of different liquor manufacturers at the stage of formulation of the excise policy..After considering the case, Justice Sharma held that allegations against Dhall are serious and their “impact on the society and common man at large has to be considered as a factor while adjudicating an application seeking grant of regular bail”.Therefore, the Court rejected Dhall’s bail plea..Senior Advocate N Hariharan along with advocates Vedant Varma, Tanveer Ahmad Mir, Shashwat Sarin, Ariana Ahluwalia, Punya Rekha Angara, Mueed Shah, Shaurea Tyagi and Anushka Khaitan appeared for Amandeep Dhall.CBI was represented by Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) DP Singh and advocates Manu Mishra and Shreya Dutt. .[Read Judgment]