New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Thursday asked former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, arrested in cases related to alleged irregularities in the excise policy, why he withdrew it if it was "so good". Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma, while hearing the bail plea of Vijay Nair, a co-accused in a money laundering case linked to the alleged scam, asked the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader's lawyer to "give a concrete answer" to his question.

Sisodia was also in charge of the excise department along with several other departments. "If the policy was so good, why did you withdraw it? The court was told that Sisodia, who is lodged in Tihar Jail, has once again filed an application for his interim release. Sisodia's counsel said the policy was withdrawn after the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi did not allow liquor shops to open in "prohibited" areas, leading to losses. He claimed that shops were opened in such areas under the earlier policy implemented for 10 years.

Under the new excise policy, each licence holder had to open three shops in every municipal ward. However, several areas were declared containment where shops could not open due to action by civic bodies over alleged violations of the Master Plan of Delhi. However, Additional Solicitor General S V Raju, appearing for the Enforcement Directorate (ED), claimed that the policy was withdrawn due to "exposal" of the wrongdoings of the accused. Sisodia's bail plea in the money laundering case is pending before the court.

According to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the ED, which are probing the case against Sisodia, these irregularities were committed while changing the excise policy and giving undue benefits to the license holders. The Delhi government had implemented the policy on November 17, 2021. But it was withdrawn at the end of September 2022 amid allegations of corruption.

The lawyers representing the ED and Sisodia also told the court on Thursday that the AAP leader has filed fresh pleas for interim bail citing his wife's deteriorating health, which is likely to come up for hearing on Friday. The court had on May 30 rejected Sisodia's bail plea in the excise policy scam being probed by the CBI, saying he was an influential person and the allegations against him were serious in nature.

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