Manish Sisodia moves Delhi court for bail in Excise policy case

Former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia moved the Rouse Avenue Court on Friday seeking bail in the Delhi Excise Policy case. .Sisodia, who is currently in the custody of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), will be produced before the court on Saturday which is when his CBI custody comes to an end. .A Delhi court had, on February 27, remanded Sisodia to CBI custody till March 4 in the case after he was arrested on February 26 in connection with the 2021 Excise policy.The Supreme Court had also refused to grant him relief, saying Sisodia has alternative remedies.Sisodia was arrested by the CBI after an interrogation that lasted nearly eight hours..The CBI has alleged that Sisodia and other members of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) granted liquor licenses to certain traders in exchange for bribes.It has been alleged that the policy was tweaked in a manner that benefited certain traders and kickbacks were received in exchange for the same.The Enforcement Directorate (ED) and CBI registered cases in relation to the alleged scam after Delhi Lieutenant Governor (LG) VK Saxena recommended a CBI probe based on a report by the Delhi Chief Secretary. The report claimed that the Deputy Chief Minister violated statutory provisions and notified a policy that had significant financial implications.Although Sisodia was not named in the CBI's chargesheet, the probe remained open against him and some others. The AAP has denied the allegations and maintained that Sisodia is innocent.It is Sisodia's stance that the policy and the changes made in it were approved by the LG and that CBI is now going after the policy decisions of an elected government.