(Our Special Correspondent)
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia’s plea seeking bail in the Delhi excise policy case, asking him to approach the high court.
“We don’t want to interfere in such a matter at the first instance, you can make all your points before the high court”, the top court said. The plea was mentioned by Abhishek Manu Singhvi seeking an urgent hearing on the matter before the bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud.Sisodia was arrested by the CBI on Sunday after eight hours of questioning in connection with alleged irregularities involving the liquor excise policy in Delhi. On Monday, he was sent to five-day CBI custody by Delhi’s Rouse Avenue court.
This is what Supreme Court said: (a) When you have a full alternate remedy available, why dd you come directly to this court against arrest and for bail.? (b) How do we entertain it here? (c) The question is not about this court not having the power. We undoubtedly have the power but the question is whether we should exercise this extraordinary power in a given case. (d) It will set a very wrong precedent. Just because an incident occurs in Delhi, we cannot entertain it here directly. (e) We are not inclined to entertain the petition under Article 32 at this stage, and (f) We don’t want to interfere in such a matter at the first instance. You can make all your points before the high court.
Manish Sisodia, and Satyendar Jain resigns: Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, who is currently in five-day CBI custody in connection with the excise policy case, resigned on Tuesday. His cabinet colleague Satyendar Jain, who has been in jail for less than a year following his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case, also resigned.Sisodia, who currently heads 18 of 33 departments in the national capital, was arrested on Sunday following an eight-hour grilling by the Central Bureau of Investigation. He had moved the Supreme Court today for bail which asked him to approach the Delhi HC. The AAP has now decided to move the High Court. Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has accepted the resignation of the two ministers. The national capital is likely to get two new ministers.After Jain’s arrest in May last year, Sisodia was also allocated the former’s health portfolio in addition to the ones he was handling. His arrest comes at a time of presenting the Delhi government budget.
Before the duo’s resignation, the Delhi government had a total of six ministers with Sisodia handling 18 portfolios. Gopal Rai, Kailash Gahlot, Imran Hussain, and Raj Kumar Anand are the other ministers. BJP’s swipe at AAP: The Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday took a swipe at Manish Sisodia over the Aam Aadmi Party leader’s arrest in the alleged liquor excise policy scam, observing Delhi’s ‘Shiksha mantri’ (education minister) and ‘sharab mantri (‘liquor’ minister – a reference to the alleged scam) were the same. BJP leader Sudhanshu Trivedi – speaking to the press shortly before Sisodia quit the AAP cabinet – ripped into the ruling party, accusing it of ‘toying’ with the future of young men and women by allowing the ‘proliferation’ of liquor vendors.
“… for us it is not just an issue of corruption… it is also about the future of (the) youths (of) Delhi,” he was quoted by the news agency PTI.”It must be an unusual thing… in Delhi ‘Shiksha mantri’ (education minister) and ‘sharab mantri’ (excise minster) are the same,” he said; Sisodia held both posts in the Arvind Kejriwal government.On Tuesday evening Sisodia – and health minister Satyendar Jain, who has been in Delhi’s Tihar Jail for nine months after being arrested on money laundering charges – resigned from the cabinet.