Delhi Court on Wednesday extended till January 20 the judicial custody of AAP leaders Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh in a money laundering case related to the alleged excise scam.
Special Judge M K Nagpal also allowed Singh to visit the returning officer to receive his election certificate upon his re-election to the Rajya Sabha on January 12. Singh and two other AAP candidates are expected to get elected to the Rajya Sabha unopposed given the party’s overwhelming dominance in the Delhi assembly.
The court passed the order on an application moved by Singh seeking directions to the jail authorities to take him to the returning officer to receive the certificate as January 12 is the last date for withdrawal of nominations.
The court, meanwhile, granted interim bail to co-accused Sarvesh Mishra, a close aide of Singh, and posted his application for regular bail for January 20.
Mishra was named as an accused in the fifth supplementary chargesheet.
The Delhi government had implemented the excise policy on November 17, 2021 but scrapped it at the end of September 2022 amid allegations of corruption.
According to the investigating agencies, the profit margin of wholesalers was arbitrarily increased from 5 per cent to 12 per cent under the new policy.
The CBI and the Enforcement Directorate have alleged that the new policy resulted in cartelisation and those ineligible for liquor licences were favoured for monetary benefits. However, the Delhi government and Sisodia, a former deputy chief minister, have denied any wrongdoing and said the new policy would have led to an increase in revenue.
