Guwahati, Aug 9: The Supreme Court granted bail to former Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi, Manish Sisodia in the alleged excise policy case on Friday.
According to reports, the apex court accepted the bail plea filed by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader in both the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED) cases, considering the delay in commencing the trial in the alleged scam.
A bench of justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan observed, “We find that on account of long incarceration running around 17 months and trial having not been commenced, the appellant has been deprived of the right to speedy trial.”
The apex court further noted that “there is not even the remotest possibility of the trial being concluded in the near future. In our view, keeping the appellant behind bars for an unlimited period of time in the hope of speedy completion of the trial would deprive his fundamental right to liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution. As observed time and again, the prolonged incarceration before being pronounced guilty of an offence should not be permitted to become punishment without trial.”
Meanwhile, Delhi Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj, “You cannot keep someone in jail during the trial. During the hearing, the Supreme Court remarked on the unhappiness with the High Courts and Trial Courts about hesitation in granting bail.”
