Huge relief to Manish Sisodia: AAP leader walks free after 17 months, asked to surrender passport

The Supreme Court on Friday granted bail to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia in connection with the Delhi excise policy case. The top court has directed Sisodia to surrender his passport and to not influence witnesses in the case. 

Sisodia will have to cough up a personal bond of Rs 10 lakh with two sureties of like amount, the apex court said. The top court bench comprising Justices BR Gavai and KV Vishwanathan said that he was denied the right to speedy trial by the trial court and the High Court, both of which denied bail to the AAP leader.

"We find that on account of a long incarceration running around 17 months and trial having not been commenced, the appellant (Sisodia) has been deprived of the right to speedy trial," the Supreme Court bench said. 

Following the top court's decision, sweets were distributed at AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh's residence. Singh said hailed the development as a 'victory of truth' and claimed that there is no truth/evidence in the case. He also reiterated his charge of AAP leaders being forcibly put in jail. 

"Manish Sisodia was kept in jail for 17 months. I thank the Supreme Court that we got justice and the decision has come in favour of AAP and every worker is excited. I pray to God that Arvind Kejriwal and Satyendra Jain also come out of jail soon. This is a slap on the dictatorship of the central government," the Rajya Sabha MP further said.

He also took this opportunity to put the ball in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's court, while adding that not a single rupee was recovered from Sisodia's residence. 

"Will the Prime Minister of the country give an account for the 17 months of Manish Sisodia's life that were wasted? Not even a single rupee was recovered from Manish Sisodia's house," he said. Singh hailed the verdict as a huge respite for the AAP workers.

After the Supreme Court's decision today, the senior AAP leader will walk free after 17 months of incarceration. Sisodia was in jail since February 2023, when he was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and later by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).