The Supreme Court on Tuesday declined an urgent hearing request for the bail plea of businessman Amandeep Singh Dhall, who is entangled in a corruption case related to the alleged excise policy scam. The plea was brought forward by senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, who represents Dhall. Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan emphasized the need to consider all litigants fairly and adhere to the procedural norms of the court, stating, “We have to think about poor litigants also. We cannot just bypass procedure of the Supreme Court.”
Dhall has been seeking bail following his arrest in April last year by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). He is facing charges in separate investigations conducted by the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) related to alleged irregularities in the excise policy of the Delhi government. Despite being granted regular bail in a connected money laundering case by the Enforcement Directorate, Dhall’s plea for bail in the CBI’s corruption case was denied by the Delhi High Court on June 4.
The Delhi High Court, in its decision, underscored the severity of the allegations against Dhall. It noted his connections with influential leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and his involvement in formulating a controversial liquor policy that purportedly facilitated kickbacks. Citing these factors, the court found that Dhall did not meet the criteria for bail—often referred to as the “triple test”—which assesses the risk of the accused fleeing, influencing witnesses, or tampering with evidence.
The high court also highlighted concerns that many witnesses in the case are known to Dhall, and there is a risk of him influencing them. Furthermore, Dhall’s previous attempt to bribe an Enforcement Directorate officer to have his name removed from the case added to the court’s decision to deny bail.
The Supreme Court has scheduled to take up the matter for a regular hearing in the second week of October, with a detailed hearing set for November.
