NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday relaxed the bail conditions for Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Manish Sisodia, which had required him to report to the investigating officer twice a week in connection with the corruption and money laundering cases related to the Delhi excise policy. A bench comprising Justices B R Gavai and K V Viswanathan deemed the conditions unnecessary, stating, “The petitioner shall regularly attend the trial.” The apex court had previously agreed, on 22 November, to hear Sisodia’s pleas, issuing notices to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to seek their responses on the applications. Sisodia, the former Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi, had been granted bail by the Supreme Court on 9 August in both cases. The court had highlighted that his 17-month incarceration without trial violated his right to a speedy trial. It imposed conditions, including the requirement for Sisodia to report to investigating officers every Monday and Thursday between 10 am and 11 am. During the 22 November hearing, senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi argued that Sisodia had already appeared before investigating officers on 60 occasions, making the frequent reporting conditions excessive. Sisodia was initially arrested by the CBI on 26 February 2023 for alleged irregularities in the formulation and implementation of the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy for 2021-22.
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