[Delhi Excise Policy case] Delhi Court remands AAP communications in-charge Vijay Nair to CBI custody for 5 days

A Delhi Court on Wednesday remanded Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) communications in-charge Vijay Nair to the custody of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for five days in relation to a corruption case. .Special CBI Judge MK Nagpal of Delhi's Rouse Avenue Court passed the order on an application filed by the CBI seeking Nair's custody for 7 days..The judge opined that the investigation was at a nascent stage, and detailed custodial interrogation was not only required to unearth the entire conspiracy, the roles played by different accused persons including the public servants, but also to trace the trail of ill-gotten money which was alleged to have been paid."Further, the custodial interrogation of the accused is also felt necessary to confront him with the evidence which has already been collected by the 1O till now and he will even be required to be questioned with regard to the nature of data, which is stated to have been deleted from his mobile phones by way of formatting thereof," the order recorded. .The CBI, while seeking custody, had argued that the case involved high-profile persons such as Delhi's Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia..Arguing for Nair, Senior Advocate Rebecca John opposed the plea for custody, reasoning that her client had joined the investigation. "I'm not interested in profile of case...I have joined investigation. No need to effect an arrest," the senior counsel said. John argued that she wasn't moving a bail plea for now, but was opposing the plea for custody remand. "Fact of the matter remains, I have not dealt with any money. Not dealt with any policy. I only dealt with the affairs of the media," she said..The First Information Report (FIR) was lodged after Delhi Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena recommended a CBI probe into the Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22, putting Sisodia, the in-charge of the excise department, directly in the line of fire. Following this, the Delhi government had announced it was withdrawing the policy..John was briefed by a team from Law Offices of Panag & Babu comprising Sherbir Singh Panag, Samudra Sarangi, Guneet Gudh, Simran Sidana, Alisha Luthra, Nitya Jain and Pravir Singh.Advocate Pankaj Gupta appeared for CBI..[Read Order]