The act of proactively destroying evidence leads to only one conclusion: Manish Sisodia took deliberate steps to remove evidence of the offence of money laundering, claimed the Enforcement Directorate in a request for Sisodia’s remand in connection with the Delhi excise policy case.
Advocates Zohaib Hossain and Naveen Kumar Matta spoke for the ED and said that Manish Sisodia lied in his statements on March 7, 2023, and March 9, 2023.
“On being asked about his association with Dinesh Arora, who handled the transfer of kickbacks from the South Group to Vijay Nair, he gave an answer contrary to what has been revealed by independent persons/stakeholders,” he said.
When asked if Manish Sisodia had asked Dinesh Arora to come and sit next to him in a meeting held to resolve the issues of retailers prior to the start of business in 2021, he denied the fact. He was then confronted with statements from his own Secretary C Arvind, Pankaj Bhatnagar, Asst. Commissioner, who had organised that meeting, and Amit Arora, a retailer, who all verified and corroborated the fact that during that meeting Manish Sisodia behaved with Dinesh Arora in a manner which showed the liquor industry that they had a close working relationship, said the ED.
In the excise policy case, Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court on Friday remanded Aam Aadmi Party leader and former Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi Manish Sisodia to the Enforcement Directorate until March 17.
Sisodia appeared in court at 2 p.m. today after being arrested by the ED yesterday after hours of questioning in Tihar Prison, where the AAP leader is detained.
During the hearing, senior advocate Dayan Krishnan, who represented Manish Sisodia, challenged the ED’s request for 10-day custody.
The agency has requested a 10-day detention order in order to question Manish Sisodia and face other people who have been summoned.
The ED informed the court that Manish Sisodia had purchased SIM cards and mobile phones in the names of other persons.
The excise policy was framed as part of a conspiracy. The plot was orchestrated by Vijay Nair and others, and the Excise policy was implemented to provide huge profit margins for wholesalers, ED stated in court.
According to ED, the 12% wholesale profit margin to private firms was never considered during the GoM meeting.
The investigation agency informed the court about the meeting between Vijay Nair and K Kavitha (BRS MLC).
According to the ED, accused Butchibabu Gorantla revealed a political agreement between then-Dy CM Manish Sisodia and K Kavitha, who also met with Vijay Nair. Butchibabu is a former auditor for K Kavitha who is currently out on bail.
In response to Sisodia’s counsel’s arguments, the ED lawyer told the court that if the policy is a matter of executive discretion, there would be no coal or 2G scams.
Earlier this week, the ED detained Sisodia on suspicion of money laundering in connection with the excise policy investigation.
He was arrested while being held in judicial custody at Tihar Prison.
The CBI detained Sisodia in the liquor policy case on February 26 and sentenced him to 14 days in judicial detention on March 6.
Meanwhile, the ED made another arrest in the case, taking Hyderabad-based businessman Arun Ramchandra Pillai into jail.
The ED summoned Bharatiya Rashtriya Samiti (BRS) MLC and Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao’s daughter K Kavitha for questioning in connection with the liquor policy issue on Thursday.
The CBI had previously arrested Sisodia as part of its continuing probe into suspected irregularities in the formulation and implementation of the National Capital Territory of Delhi’s excise policy (GNCTD). The Rouse Avenue court in Delhi placed him under judicial detention until March 20.
