Sisodia withdraws interim bail pleas filed before Delhi HC to help his ailing wife
Darpan News Desk IANS, 24 May, 2023 12:25 PM
New Delhi, May 24 (IANS) Former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Wednesday withdrew his interim bail pleas filed before the Delhi High Court in connection with the corruption and money laundering cases being probed by the CBI and ED related to the excise policy.
The bench of Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma said: "Noting that the condition of the petitioner's wife has improved and is stable, the interim applications are dismissed as withdrawn."
The senior AAP leader had moved the high court on April 3, seeking interim bail in the case on the grounds of his wife's illness.
The same single-judge bench had on May 11 directed the jail superintendent to provide Sisodia with a video conferencing facility to speak to his wife every alternate day between 3-4 p.m. as per prison rules, till the disposal of the bail plea.
Additional Solicitor General S. V. Raju said he had earlier argued suppression as it was not mentioned in the application that the wife was discharged.
He added that the applications were being withdrawn due to his contention regarding suppression.
"This is not a simple withdrawal," Raju said.
The court, however, said that without going into any such contention, the application is dismissed as withdrawn.
Appearing for Sisodia, Senior Advocate Mohit Mathur while resuming arguments on his client's regular bail plea in the money laundering case, said the general rule is that bail has to be granted.
A Delhi court on Tuesday extended Sisodia's judicial custody till June 1 in the case being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate.
The jail authorities were also directed to consider his request to provide him a chair and table for study purposes.
On May 12, the court extended Sisodia's judicial custody till June 2, in the case being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation.
The ED had arrested Sisodia on March 9, after the CBI arrested him on February 26 this year.
Last month, Special Judge M.K. Nagpal had denied bail to the AAP leader holding that the evidence, prima facie, "speaks volumes" of his involvement in the commission of the offence.
Sidhu has urged the apex court not to punish him with a jail term in a 1988 road rage case in which he was let off with a meagre fine of Rs 1,000. Senior advocate Siddharth Luthra, representing Gurnam Singh's family, submitted that he has moved an application seeking enlargement of the scope of the notice issued.
With Ukraine closing its airspace after Russia launched a military operation in the country on Thursday, the Indian Embassy in Kiev has asked the Indian nationals to start moving towards the bordering areas so that they can be evacuated safely.
The Indian Embassy in Kiev stated that the helpline numbers are being set up at the respective check-points to facilitate evacuation through the borders. These control rooms will be based in Poland, Romania and Hungary and they will be managed by the Indian officials posted in those countries.
On Thursday, India's Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla had stated that Jaishankar has spoken to concerned officials in Poland, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia for setting up camps on the border areas for evacuation of stranded Indian nationals.
An official spokesperson said the affected people or their relatives could call from within Punjab on helpline number 1100 and others from outside India on +91-172-4111905 for seeking information in this regard.
