Court Extends Manish Sisodia’s CBI custody till March 6; AAP leader alleges ‘mental harassment’

New Delhi, Mar 4 (PTI) A Delhi court on Saturday extended by two days the CBI custody of former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, arrested in a corruption case related to the now-scrapped excise policy, to confront him with material witnesses.

Special judge M K Nagpal also directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) not to ask him the same questions repeatedly after Sisodia termed it as “mental harassment”.

“They are not using third-degree. But sitting for eight to nine hours and answering the same questions again and again, that too is mental harassment,” Sisodia said, who was produced before the court on expiry of his earlier five-day CBI custody.

To this the judge, who had in the last hearing directed the CBI not to use the third degree on the accused, told the probe agency not ask the “same questions again and again”. “If you have something new, ask him,” Nagpal said.

During the arguments, Sisodia’s counsel also told the court that his wife’s health was very poor and that she was basically in a “vegetative state”.

“While considering all things, my wife’s medical condition has been brushed aside. She is basically a vegetable and her body is degenerating,” the counsel said on behalf of the senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader.

The former deputy chief minister of Delhi made these arguments while opposing the CBI plea seeking his further custody on the ground that he was not cooperating.

The court passed the order after hearing the arguments from the CBI as well as the counsel appearing for the accused.

“Though the accused is found to have been extensively examined, questioned and confronted with his then Secretary and the then Excise Commissioner of GNCTD on some vital aspects of the prosecution story, but his confrontation with two other material witnesses is yet to be done and it is stated that their names have intentionally not been disclosed in the application so that the pending investigation of the case is not adversely effected,” the court noted.

It also observed from the case diary that one important file pertaining to the Cabinet note prepared in respect to the excise policy was to be traced, and for this some further custodial interrogation of the accused might be necessary.

“Therefore, in light of the above facts and circumstances and the submissions made, the accused is being remanded to CBI custody for a further period of two days and he is directed to be now produced before this court on March 6 (Monday),” the judge said.

However, it is desired that during this period, the investigating officer (IO) will complete all the above confrontation exercise and also the examination and interrogation of the accused for the above said purposes, the judge said.

The court reiterated that like its previous order, the accused’s examination and interrogation should take happen at a place that has CCTV camera coverage.

The CBI told the court that Sisodia was sent to its custody on February 27 and the day after was consumed in proceedings conducted in his petition which was filed before the Supreme Court, and thus, no examination or interrogation of the accused took place on that day.

It was also their submission that some substantive time out of the five-day custody granted earlier was also consumed in getting the accused medically examined once in every 48 hours, according to terms of the court’s previous order.

Thus, the entire remaining time of this CBI custody of the accused was properly utilised by the IOs for the purposes of investigation and interrogation of the accused, the agency said.

He was also confronted during this period with some key witnesses of the prosecution case on certain material aspects, though the attitude and behaviour of the accused during these confrontations was totally uncooperative and evasive, the CBI said.

However, still some further confrontation of the accused with some material witnesses was yet to take place and the same could not be done during the earlier five-day period due to lack of time, the CBI said in its submission.

It added that some further interrogation of the accused might also be required to trace out the missing file of the Cabinet note prepared in respect to the formulation of the excise policy of the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD).

The CBI’s plea was opposed by Sisodia’s counsel who said the inefficiency of the agency to complete the probe cannot be ground for remand and he cannot be asked to incriminate himself.

“Non-cooperation or giving of evasive replies etc. by him cannot be a ground for remand. They cannot say we will wait till he confesses. They should have completed the investigation. Their failure to complete investigation can’t be a ground for remand,” senior advocate Dayan Krishnan, appearing for Sisodia, said.

The counsel said the five-day custody granted earlier was more than enough for the purposes of extensive examination and interrogation of the accused, and also for confronting him with all the oral and documentary evidence collected so far by the IO.

The court, meanwhile, issued notice to the CBI on Sisodia’s bail plea and directed it to file a reply by March 10, when it will hear the arguments on the application.

In his application, Sisodia said that he joined the investigation as and when called for by the central probe agency.

He further said no fruitful purpose would be served by keeping him in custody as all the recoveries have already been made, adding that the other accused persons arrested in this case have already been granted bail.

Asserting that he had held an important constitutional post of deputy chief minister of Delhi, Sisodia said he has deep roots in society.

There was heavy security presence in and outside the Rouse Avenue Courts premises. AAP supporters staged a protest outside the premises and raised slogans.

The CBI on Sunday evening arrested Sisodia in connection with alleged corruption in the formulation and implementation of the now-scrapped excise policy for 2021-22.