Manish Sisodia's legal battle: Timeline of key events from arrest to bail in Delhi liquor policy case

The Supreme Court on Friday granted bail to senior Aam Aadmi Party AAP leader Manish Sisodia in the corruption and money laundering cases linked to the alleged Delhi liquor policy caseThe Supreme Court gave bail to Sisodia who has been in jail for 17 months sharply pulling up the lower courts and saying his long incarceration without trial had deprived him of the right to speedy justiceThe former Delhi deputy chief minister was arrested by both the Central Bureau of Investigation CBI and the Enforcement Directorate ED in corruption and money laundering cases linked to the Delhi liquor policy caseWith the apex court granting him bail in both cases Sisodia is likely to come out of jail today after furnishing a bail bond of Rs 10 lakh along with two sureties of a like amountListing the conditions for his bail the judges said he would have to surrender his passport to the special trial court and not make any attempt to either influence witnesses or tamper with evidence Besides he will have to report to the investigating officer every Monday and Thursday between 1011 amSisodia had sought bail contending that he has been in custody for 17 months and the trial against him has not yet started The ED and the CBI had opposed his bail pleas He was nabbed by the CBI on February 26 2023 for purported irregularities in the formulation and implementation of the nowscrapped Delhi excise policy 202122The following month the ED arrested him in the money laundering case stemming from the CBI FIR on March 9 2023 He resigned from the Delhi cabinet on February 28 2023Heres a timeline of events to Manish Sisodias legal battleNovember 2021 Delhi government introduces a new excise policyJuly 2022 Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena recommends a CBI probe into alleged irregularities in the formulation and implementation of the policyAugust 2022 CBI and ED register cases in connection with alleged irregularitiesAugust 2022 CBI raids the residence of then Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia as well as othersSeptember 2022 Delhi government scraps the excise policyOctober 2022 Manish Sisodia interrogated by the CBI for over eight hoursFebruary 2023 CBI summons SisodiaFebruary 26 2023 Central Bureau of Investigation CBI arrests Sisodia for his alleged role in the Delhi excise policy scamMarch 9 Enforcement Directorate ED arrests Sisodia in a moneylaundering case stemming from the CBIs FIRMarch 31 Trial court rejects Sisodias bail plea in the CBIs corruption caseApril 28 Trial court dismisses Sisodias bail plea in the moneylaundering caseMay 30 Delhi High Court rejects Sisodias bail plea in the CBI caseJuly 3 Delhi High Court junks Sisodias bail plea in the moneylaundering caseJuly 6 Sisodia files bail pleas in both cases in Supreme CourtOctober 30 Supreme Court denies relief to SisodiaApril 30 2024 Trial court again refuses to grant bail to SisodiaMay 2 Sisodia moves Delhi High Court seeking bail in both corruption and money laundering casesMay 21 Delhi High Court denies bail to SisodiaJuly 16 Supreme Court agrees to hear Sisodias pleas seeking bail and seeks responses from the CBI and the EDAugust 6 Supreme Court reserves verdict on Sisodias bail pleas in both casesAugust 9 Supreme Courtgrants bail to SisodiaWhat is the Delhi liquor policy caseIn November 2021 the Delhi government under Arvind Kejriwals leadership introduced a new excise policy aimed at modernising alcohol sales in the city However this move received mixed reviews with some applauding its progressive approach while others raised concerns about its potential financial and public health implicationsThe Delhi government implemented the policy on November 17 2021 but scrapped it at the end of September 2022 amid allegations of corruptionIn July 2022 Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena recommended a CBI investigation into Delhi Excise Policy 202122 after the Delhi chief secretary reported violations in the policy The excise department was headed by Manish Sisodia Following this the ED and CBI had registered cases alleging that irregularities were committed while modifying the Excise PolicyThe Lieutenant Governor reportedly found substantive indications of ldquofinancial quid pro quordquo at the top political level Sisodia was accused of undue financial favours to the liquor licensees much after the tenders had been awarded and thus caused huge losses to the exchequer