Senior AAP leader and former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia’s bail requests were denied by the Delhi High Court on Tuesday. The CBI and ED had filed corruption and money-laundering charges against Sisodia related to the excise policy case.

Sisodia was chastised by Justice Swarna Kanta Sharma for formulating a policy aimed at enriching private individuals, citing the case as an example of his severe abuse of public authority and betrayal of public trust.

The high court stated that the evidence gathered by the investigative agencies demonstrated how Sisodia manipulated the process of formulating the excise policy by manipulating public comments to achieve his objectives.

Judge Sharma described Sisodia’s actions as a “great betrayal of democratic principles” and stated that he attempted to influence the creation of policy and departed from the recommendations made by an expert committee he had formed.

On April 30, a Delhi special court rejected Sisodia’s bail requests in corruption and money-laundering cases due to purported irregularities in the creation and execution of the excise policy for 2021–2022, noting that it was not the appropriate time to grant bail.

On February 26, 2023, Sisodia was taken into custody by the CBI on suspicion of being involved in a scam. Two days later, he announced his resignation from the Delhi cabinet. After questioning him in Tihar Jail, the ED arrested him on March 9, 2023, in connection with a money-laundering case related to the scam.