Delhi liquor policy scam: Manish Sisodia's judicial custody extended till May 8
New Delhi: A Delhi court on Saturday extended the judicial custody of former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia till May 8 in the alleged liquor policy scam case filed against him by the Enforcement Directorate, media reports said.
Sisodia was presented before the court after the expiry of his earlier judicial custody. Special Judge MK Nagpal extended his custody until May 8.
The extension of the AAP leader’s judicial custody comes a day after the court rejected his bail plea on the grounds that evidence "speaks volumes of his involvement in the commission of the offence."
The court further said that the possibility of Sisodia influencing prime witnesses of the case could not be overlooked.
Earlier, Sisodia's bail plea was rejected by the court on March 31 in the case probed by the CBI. The ED is investigating the money trail in the same case.
The probe into the alleged liquor scam started after the Delhi Lieutenant Governor ordered a CBI investigation.
After the order, Delhi’s AAP government reinstated the old liquor policy in the national capital and blamed the LG for revenue loss of crores of rupees that would have come to the exchequer if the new liquor policy was not withdrawn.
The CBI is investigating the alleged involvement of a "south lobby" consisting of businessmen and politicians in manipulating the Delhi liquor policy to benefit themselves, with the help of middlemen, traders, and bureaucrats.
The former chartered accountant of K Kavitha, who is a leader of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi and the daughter of Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, was arrested by the CBI. Kavitha was also interrogated in the matter.