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Manish Sisodia vs. Central Bureau of Investigation

SLP (Crl.) · 2023 INSC 956Decided 30 Oct 2023
SLP (Crl.) No. 8167 of 2023

Background

Manish Sisodia, then Delhi's Deputy Chief Minister, sought bail in two related prosecutions arising from Delhi's now-scrapped 2021 excise (liquor) policy: a CBI case under the Prevention of Corruption Act and IPC, and an Enforcement Directorate case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. The agencies alleged that the new policy was engineered, at Sisodia's direction, to raise wholesale distributors' commission from 5% to 12% and otherwise favour a cartel of large liquor distributors in exchange for roughly Rs. 100 crore in kickbacks, part of which was allegedly routed to fund the Aam Aadmi Party's Goa election campaign. Sisodia argued the policy was a legitimate, transparently-adopted Cabinet decision, that the allegations rested on unreliable hearsay from co-accused and approvers, and that with 294-plus witnesses and tens of thousands of pages of evidence the trial would take years, making his prolonged custody (since February-March 2023) unjust.

Decision Breakdown

The Court carefully weighed both sides' evidence under the stringent bail standard applicable to money-laundering cases (Section 45 PMLA), noting several weaknesses in the prosecution's case, including unclear legal theory on whether merely "generating" proceeds of crime amounts to "possession" or "use" under the PMLA, and a lack of clarity on Sisodia's direct or indirect involvement in the specific Rs. 45 crore said to have funded the Goa election. Despite this, the Court found one line of allegation - that the policy change from a 5% to a 12% wholesaler margin, without adequate justification, generated roughly Rs. 338 crore in extra profit for distributors linked to alleged kickbacks - was tentatively supported by evidence and sufficient, at the bail stage, to decline bail for now. However, recognising the fundamental right to a speedy trial and the lengthy incarceration already undergone, the Court dismissed the appeals but gave Sisodia liberty to apply for bail again if the trial (which the prosecution assured would conclude in six to eight months) failed to progress, or if a medical emergency arose regarding his wife's health.

Lesson Learnt

Even where a bail court finds a prima facie, evidence-backed case against an accused in a serious economic offence, prolonged pre-trial detention without progress in the trial can itself become a ground for bail later, since the right to a speedy trial under Article 21 is a live consideration that grows stronger the longer a case drags on.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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