Manish Sisodia out on bail 17 months after arrest in Delhi liquor policy case

Manish Sisodia, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and Arvind Kejriwal’s trusted lieutenant, on Friday walked out of Tihar jail after 17 months of incarceration in the alleged excise policy case.

Sisodia was greeted by Delhi minister Atishi and AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh soon after he stepped out of the jail premises. Scores of AAP supporters also gathered outside Tihar jail to welcome the former Deputy Chief Minister.

The AAP leader was released hours after the Supreme Court granted him bail in the liquor policy case, saying that he has been deprived of his right to speedy justice as he has been incarcerated for over a year and trial in the matter has not yet started.

Holding aloft flags and cheering loudly, crowds of AAP supporters waited to welcome Sisodia as he stepped out of jail.

Soon after coming out, Sisodia addressed the party workers and credited the Constitution written by Babasaheb Ambedkar for his release in a “false case”. The former Deputy Chief Minister exuded confidence that AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal will also walk out of jail soon.

“Ever since this order came in the morning, every inch of my skin has been feeling indebted to Babasaheb. I don’t understand how will pay off this debt to Babasaheb,” he said in his first address after walking out of Tihar jail.

“Not only me but every person of Delhi, and children of the country were with me emotionally in jail. I thank the Supreme Court from the bottom of my heart for using the power of Constitution to give a tight slap to the dictatorship in the country,” he said.

Manish Sisodia was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on February 26, 2023 and his bail application was rejected seven times by different courts. He was arrested for alleged irregularities in the formulation and implementation of the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy 2021-22.