“Supreme Court Grants Bail to Manish Sisodia After 17 Months in Custody”

The Supreme Court on Friday granted bail to Manish Sisodia, the former Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi, in connection with the Delhi excise policy case. After 17 months of incarceration, Sisodia is now set to be released.

The bench comprising Justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan approved Sisodia’s regular bail in the cases investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) concerning the now-defunct excise policy. As part of the bail conditions, Sisodia must post a ₹10 lakh bail bond with two sureties, surrender his passport, and report to the Investigating Officer twice a week on Mondays and Thursdays. He was also instructed not to influence witnesses or tamper with evidence.

In its decision, the bench rejected the ED’s request to prohibit Sisodia from visiting the Delhi Secretariat or the Chief Minister’s office—a restriction that was previously imposed on Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal during his interim bail period for the Lok Sabha election campaign.

The CBI and ED argued that Sisodia’s petition should not be entertained as he had not sought relief from the trial court first. This marked Sisodia’s third attempt to secure bail from the Supreme Court. His earlier bail application was denied on October 30 last year, although the court allowed him to reapply if the trial did not conclude within six to eight months or showed slow progress.

When the trial did not begin within the stipulated six months, Sisodia applied for bail again, citing the delay, but his request was rejected by the Delhi High Court on May 21. Following this, he petitioned the Supreme Court in June, after the ED informed a vacation bench that it would file its charge sheet by July 3. Sisodia subsequently filed a third bail application, challenging the High Court’s May 21 decision, which has now led to his release.