Senior AAP leader Manish Sisodia on Friday walked out of Tihar jail after 17 months. The Supreme Court granted bail to the former deputy chief minister in corruption and money laundering cases linked to the Delhi excise policy "scam" case, noting that he had been in custody for 17 months.
In his first speech out of jail, AAP leader Manish Sisodia said, "Ever since this order came in the morning, every inch of my skin has been feeling indebted to Babasaheb (BR Ambedkar). I don't understand how will pay off this debt to Babasaheb..."
Manish Sisodia also greeted party leaders and workers who had gathered outside Tihar Jail to welcome him.
"Bharat mata ji jai! Inquilab Zindabad!" cheered Sisodia upon his release.
The AAP on Friday said the Supreme Court granting bail to Manish Sisodia is a "tight slap" on the "dictatorship" of the BJP-led Centre but rued that the relief came after a year's delay, and hoped its other jailed leaders, including supremo Arvind Kejriwal, would also get justice.
Manish Sisodia was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on February 26 last year for purported irregularities in the formulation and implementation of the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy 2021-22.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested Manish Sisodia in the money laundering case stemming from the CBI FIR on March 9 last year. He resigned from the Delhi cabinet on February 28, 2023.
Sisodia had sought bail contending that he had been in custody for 17 months and the trial against him had not yet started. The ED and the CBI had opposed his bail pleas.
In February 2023, Sisodia was arrested by the CBI for alleged irregularities in the framing and implementation of the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy.
The policy was withdrawn amid allegations of foul play by the Opposition. Sisodia is currently in judicial custody.
According to the CBI, Sisodia had played the most vital role in the criminal conspiracy and he had been deeply involved in the formulation as well as the implementation of the said policy to ensure the achievement of the objectives of the said conspiracy.
(With agency inputs)
