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ED Opposes Sisodia’s Bail

By LokMarg 5th April 2023

The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday opposed the bail plea of former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and said that the agency is in the process of gathering some fresh evidence as there is some crucial evidence that is still being unearthed.

ED lawyer further submitted that our investigation is not into the scheduled offence but is an investigation into the process of activity involved in the generation and use of proceeds of crime.
Appearing for Manish Sisodia, Advocate Vivek Jain argued that no PMLA case has been made against him. “Section 45 of PMLA would come against me only if an offence under Section 3 is made out,” Advocate Vivek Jain said.

“ED’s reply opposing my bail doesn’t even show I have concealed any proceeds of crime or acquired any proceeds of crime, or I projected proceeds of crime. Not a single rupee has come into my account or my family’s account. They have raided my home, and they have checked my bank accounts. They even have gone to my native place,” he argued.

The Special Judge MK Nagpal after noting down the submissions, kept the matter for April 12, 2023, for further arguements in the bail.

Meanwhile, the Court also extended the Judicial Custody of Manish Sisodia in the ED case of excise case till April 17, 2023.

Manish Sisodia was physically produced before the Court on Wednesday at the end of his Judicial remand period, granted earlier.

The Rouse Avenue Court was hearing a bail plea of Delhi’s former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia in a money laundering case pertaining to alleged irregularities in the framing and implementation of the excise policy of GNCTD.

The Enforcement Directorate on the last date had filed its lengthy reply opposing the bail plea in the court.

Last week the same court dismissed the bail plea of Sisodia in the CBI case related to the Excise matter.

Earlier, while sending Sisodia on ED remand Court said, it cannot be ignored that investigation into an ED case is a complicated affair and keeping in view the intricacies of the case, the multiplicity of the persons/accused involved in the commission of the alleged offence of money laundering and the huge volume of the records or data seized during the investigation and required to be analysed by the Investigating Agency, it is bound to take some time and the IO or InvestigatingAgency cannot be faulted or blamed for the same, though they are duty bound to do and conclude it as early as possible.

Appearing for ED earlier, Advocates Zohaib Hossain submitted that huge mail data, mobile data all of that are being forensically analyzed. The mobile phone was changed the day when LG wrote to the CBI, which was used by Sisodia for a long time.

Counsel for ED had further submitted that the statements were confirmed by the recovery of the data received from the computer of the arrestee. Mobile data, email data, and cloud data were also received during the interpretation.

Earlier, ED said, the act of pro-active destruction of evidence leads to only one inference that 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 had earlier submitted that even in the statement given by Manish Sisodia on 07.03.2023 and 09.03.2023, 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.

The ED earlier also told the court that Manish Sisodia had purchased SIM cards and mobile phones in other people’s names.

There was a conspiracy behind framing the excise policy. The conspiracy was coordinated by Vijay Nair, along with others and the Excise policy was brought out for extraordinary profit margin for wholesalers, ED argued in the court.

ED told the court that the margin of 12 per cent of wholesale profit margin to private entities was never discussed in the GoM meeting.

Countering Sisodia’s lawyer’s arguements, the ED lawyer told the court that if the policy is a matter of executive then there would not be a coal scam or a 2G scam.

He was arrested during his Judicial custody in Tihar Jail, where he was lodged in.

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, 2023. The same Court on March 24, had kept the order reserved on bail plea of Sisdodia in CBI case and fixed March 31, for the pronouncement of the order.

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). (ANI)