Manish Sisodia sent to ED remand for extensive interrogation, confrontations: Delhi Court
Mar 10, 2023
New Delhi [India], March 10 : The Rouse Avenue Court on Friday while sending Aam Aadmi Party leader Manish Sisodia to ED remand said that he is being remanded to custody for a period of 7 days till March 17 for the purposes of his "detailed and extensive interrogation and confrontations".
Special Judge MK Nagpal said, Court is, prima facie, convinced that the arrest of the accused in this case is justified and ED has also the power to seek custody of the accused for his further examination and interrogation.
It has been specifically submitted in the ED application that custodial interrogation of the accused is must as during the course of his examination conducted so far, he had been totally evasive and non-cooperative and he did not disclose the true facts and rather, he came up with answers which have been found entirely in contrast and contradiction to the oral and documentary evidence collected so far. He is also required to be confronted with the oral and documentary evidence collected so far and showing his involvement in this case, noted the Court.
However, Special Judge MK Nagpal also directed that his interrogation shall be conducted at some place having CCTV coverage in accordance with the guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court and also in accordance with all the other applicable rules, directions and guidelines on the subject and the said CCTV footage shall be preserved.
The accused shall be medically examined once every 48 hours during the above period and in terms of provisions contained in Section 4ID CrPC, the accused shall also be permitted to meet his advocates an hour daily during the said period of his ED custody in a manner that the ED officials are not able to hear their conversations. The accused is also being permitted to meet one or two members of his family every day for a duration of 15 minutes during the above said hour, if he desires, said the Court.
The accused is also permitted to carry with him his spectacles, the holy book - Shrimad Bhagwat Geeta, a diary and a pen during his ED custody. The accused is also being permitted to carry the medicines as prescribed in his MLC prescribed by the doctors of Safdarjung Hospital.
The act of pro-active destruction of evidence leads to only one inference Manish Sisodia made conscious efforts to destroy evidence of the offence of money laundering, said Enforcement Directorate while seeking remand of Manish Sisodia in connection with the Excise Policy case.
Appearing for ED, Advocates Zohaib Hossain and Naveen Kumar Matta submitted that even in the statement given by Manish Sisodia on March 7 and March 9, he has been untrue. "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.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on March 9 arrested former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia in the liquor policy case, after hours of questioning at Tihar Jail.
Sisodia was arrested by the CBI in the liquor policy case on February 26 and was sent to 14-day judicial custody on March 6.
The ED also made another arrest in the case earlier, as it took Hyderabad-based businessman Arun Ramchandra Pillai into its custody.
The ED, on Thursday, summoned Bharatiya Rashtriya Samiti (BRS) MLC and Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao's daughter K Kavitha for questioning in the liquor policy case.
Sisodia was arrested by the CBI earlier in its ongoing investigation of a case related to alleged irregularities in the framing and implementation of the excise policy of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD). Delhi's Rouse Avenue Court sent him to Judicial Custody till March 20.
