The top court said it is high time that the trial and high courts recognise that the principle of bail is a rule and jail is an exception.
Published Aug 09, 2024 | 12:31 PM ⚊ Updated Aug 09, 2024 | 12:31 PM
File image of Manish Sisodia. (Screengrab)
AAP leader and former Delhi minister Manish Sisodia was granted bail by the Supreme Court in the money laundering cases linked to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam on Friday, 9 August.
The bail was granted in cases registered by both the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the CBI. The bench of justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan ordered, “Appeal allowed. Delhi High Court order is quashed and set aside. He is granted bail in both ED and CBI cases.”
As reported by the Bar and Bench, noting that the prolonged delay in trial has violated the right to speedy trial of Sisodia and the right to speedy trial is a facet of liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution, the bench said, “Sisodia has been deprived of the right to speedy trial. The right to a speedy trial is sacrosanct. Recently in Javed Gulam Nabi Shaikh case, we dealt with this angle and we noted that when a court, state or agency cannot protect the right to speedy trial, then bail cannot be opposed saying that crime is serious. Article 21 applies irrespective of the nature of the crime.”
The top court also said it is high time that the trial courts and high courts recognise that the principle of bail is a rule and jail is an exception.
It further directed that Sisodia be released on bail on a personal bond of ₹10 lakh with two sureties of the like amount.
The bench said it would be a travesty of justice to relegate him to the trial court for seeking bail in these cases.
Manish Sisodia’s counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi highlighted that Sisodia had already undergone nearly half of the prison sentence which he would be subject to in case he is found guilty.
“Sisodia has already undergone half of the minimum sentence here and there is no end to this period of incarceration. I am not seeking default bail. This case is not about the commencement of the trial but the conclusion of the trial. Earlier a date was given when it will commence and that period has also lapsed,” Singhvi argued
One of the contentions of ED was that, the delay in the trial happened as Sisodia had filed many applications seeking various documents.
However, the court turned down this argument and noted that “When we asked Additional Solicitor General to show any application which was noted as frivolous by the trial court, it was not shown. Thus, the observation by the trial court that Sisodia has delayed trial is incorrect and rejected,” the top court held.
The CBI arrested the former deputy chief minister of Delhi on 26 February, 2023 for the purported irregularities in the formulation and implementation of the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy 2021-22.
The ED arrested him in the money laundering case stemming from the CBI FIR on 9 March, 2023.
He resigned from the Delhi Cabinet on 28 February, 2023.
Sisodia had sought bail contending that he has been in custody for 17 months and the trial against him has not yet started. The ED and the CBI had opposed his bail pleas.
(Edited by Sumavarsha Kandula, with PTI inputs)
