Delhi, 20 January: A Delhi court has extended the judicial custody of AAP leaders Sanjay Singh and Manish Sisodia till February 3 in a money laundering case related to the alleged excise scam. The two leaders appeared through video conferencing from Tihar Jail.
The court also reserved its order on a bail application of Sarvesh Mishra, a close aid of Singh and an accused in the case. The court heard arguments from both the prosecution and the defendants and reserved the order for January 24.
The court had earlier taken cognisance of a charge sheet filed against Singh and Mishra by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
The ED had alleged that Singh was part of a conspiracy to collect kickbacks from liquor groups in the Delhi excise policy 2021-22, which was later scrapped. The Delhi lieutenant governor has asked the CBI to probe the alleged irregularities and corruption involving government authorities.
Singh and Sisodia were produced through video conferencing due to security reasons and lack of police personnel as preparations for Republic Day are underway. The court also reserved its order on the bail application of co-accused Amit Arora for January 24, 2024.
The accused had claimed that he was not arrested during the ED’s investigation and argued that no purpose would be served by sending him to jail after the charge sheet had already been filed.
During arguments, the ED did not oppose his bail application. Overall, the proceedings were conducted smoothly through video conferencing, reflecting the adaptability of the justice system in these challenging times.
