Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia was sent to Enforcement Directorate (ED) remand till March 17 in the alleged excise policy scam.
Special Judge MK Nagpal of Delhi Rouse Avenue Court allowed ED to quiz Sisodia for the next seven days. The development comes after the AAP leader was present in court earlier today where the federal agency sought 10-day custody to interrogate him.
During the hearing, the Enforcement Directorate alleged that Sisodia made false statements about the ‘scam’ and asserted that it wanted to unearth the modus operandi of the perpetrators and confront the former Delhi deputy CM with the other accused.
ED counsel even claimed before the special court that Sisodia destroyed his phone, an important piece of evidence in the investigation.
Referring to the meetings between restaurants association and Sisodia, the ED alleged that relaxations were afforded to the restaurants in excise policy like reducing the legal age of drinking and other things.
However, claims made by the federal anti-money laundering probe agency were contested by a battery of lawyers representing Sisodia.
Sisodia’s lawyers, including senior advocates Dayan Krishnan, Mohit Mathur and Siddharth Aggarwal, said the excise policy was accepted by the lieutenant governor, who must have examined it.
Meanwhile, the court has also listed Sisodia’s bail application for hearing on March 21. The AAP leader was first arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the now-scrapped excise policy case. He was on Thursday taken into custody by the ED in the same case.
During today’s hearing, scores of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) workers staged a protest outside the court premises and raised slogans in support of Manish Sisodia. On the other hand, several Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers protested in the national capital demanding the resignation of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.