Former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister and AAP member Manish Sisodia was granted bail by the Supreme Court of India on Friday morning, ending his nearly 18-month custody in connection with the accused liquor policy case. In a crucial decision, the court highlighted Sisodia’s right to a “speedy trial,” adding that rejecting his bail now would unfairly compel him to negotiate the judicial system from the bottom up.
The judge equated this to “making him play snakes and ladders.” Both the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) granted bail in their respective cases. The hearing was presided over by Justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan, who overturned the Delhi High Court’s prior decisions in denying Sisodia’s bail application.
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Bail Conditions and Right to Speedy Trial
Sisodia has been told to turn in his passport, provide a ₹10 lakh bail bond with two sureties, and report to the investigating officer twice a week. The court made it clear that he couldn’t try to falsify the evidence. The Supreme Court stressed that Sisodia’s right to a speedy trial—which is regarded by Article 21 of the Indian Constitution as a crucial component of personal liberty—had been infringed by the trial’s prolonged delay. The Bench emphasised that the bail cannot be refused based only on the gravity of the offence when the state or the courts are unable to uphold this right. This marks the third time Sisodia approached the Supreme Court for bail. Last year, the court had refused his plea but allowed him to reapply if the trial faced delays. The Delhi High Court rejected his plea in May, leading him to approach the Supreme Court once more in June.
During the proceedings, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) SV Raju requested the court to impose additional conditions, similar to those applied to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal during his interim bail, which barred him from visiting the CM’s office and the Delhi Secretariat. However, the Supreme Court bench declined to impose these restrictions, emphasising that the current conditions were sufficient to mitigate the agencies’ concerns.
“Sisodia has been deprived of the right to a speedy trial. The right to a speedy trial is sacrosanct. Recently, in the Javed Gulam Nabi Shaikh case, we dealt with this angle and noted that when the court, state, or agency cannot protect the right to a speedy trial, then bail cannot be opposed on the basis that the crime is serious,” the Bench remarked.
Courts Urged to Reconsider Bail Practices
The trial court and the High Court failed to properly examine the notion that “bail is the rule, and jail is the exception,” the Supreme Court stated in its decision, emphasising that bail should not be revoked as a form of punishment. The court also criticised the lower courts’ practice of habitually refusing bail in criminal cases. The Bench indicated that this case did not meet the requirements of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) triple test for bail approval since the bail petition was primarily motivated by the need to expedite the trial rather than by the merits of the case.
The court also dismissed the ED’s argument that the delay in the trial was due to multiple applications filed by Sisodia himself. The Bench observed that the trial court had allowed all the applications filed by
Background
Manish Sisodia was arrested in February 2023 by the CBI following a complaint by Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena in July 2022. The complaint alleged irregularities in the 2021-22 Delhi excise policy, accusing Sisodia of making decisions to benefit certain licensees without proper approval. A month later, the ED also took him into custody, accusing him of using kickbacks from the excise policy to fund AAP’s 2022 Punjab election campaign. Sisodia’s arrest is part of a larger investigation that has also seen Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and AAP MP Sanjay Singh come under scrutiny. While Singh is out on bail, Kejriwal remains in judicial custody in Tihar Jail.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) celebrated Manish Sisodia’s release on bail, calling it a “victory of truth.” Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, and Delhi Education Minister Atishi expressed their joy on social media, with Atishi posting “Satyamev Jayate.” Congress MP Shashi Tharoor also remarked that Sisodia should have been released earlier.
The Supreme Court’s decision to grant Manish Sisodia bail is a significant development in the ongoing Delhi excise policy claims. As Sisodia gets ready to be released from jail after serving eighteen months, all eyes are now on the next trial and its implications for the AAP and its leadership.
