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Supreme Court of India
Criminal Law

Supreme Court Refuses Manish Sisodia Bail in Excise Policy Cases, Says Trial Delay Can Justify Bail Later

Published: · NyayVidhan

The Supreme Court refused bail to former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia in the CBI and ED cases over the 2021-22 excise policy, finding the allegation that wholesale margins were raised to generate kickbacks tentatively supported. It held, however, that the right to bail on delay and long custody must be read into Section 439 CrPC and Section 45 PMLA, and let him apply afresh if the trial dragged on (paras 21, 25, 28-29).

Supreme Court Refuses Manish Sisodia Bail in Excise Policy Cases, Says Trial Delay Can Justify Bail Later

Judgment Intelligence

Bail Rejected
Manish Sisodia v. Central Bureau of Investigation
2023 INSC 956
Criminal Appeals arising out of SLP (Crl.) No. 8167 of 2023 (CBI case) and SLP (Crl.) No. 8188 of 2023 (Directorate of Enforcement case)
Court
Supreme Court of India
Date of Decision
30 October 2023
Bench
Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice S.V.N. Bhatti
Relevant Acts & Sections
Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 - Sections 3 and 45; Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 - Sections 7, 7A, 8 and 12; Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 - Sections 436A and 439; Constitution of India - Article 21
Final Outcome

Appeals dismissed and bail refused; liberty to apply afresh on change of circumstances or if the trial proceeds at a snail's pace in the next three months, and for interim bail on medical grounds (paras 29-30).

Source Supreme Court of India, www.sci.gov.in — judgment dated 30.10.2023

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Key holdings

  1. Bail under Section 45 PMLA needs only a tentative view on broad probabilities, not a finding of innocence (para 8).
  2. Detention before conviction should not become punishment without trial (para 28).
  3. Economic offences are not to be equated with those punishable with death or life imprisonment (para 28).
  4. Delay not attributable to the accused may justify bail, especially where the trial would take years (para 28).
  5. Sisodia may apply again if the trial is not concluded within the time assured by the prosecution (para 29).

Case explainer by NyayVidhan: an account of this judgment and the law it laid down, not the court's text. The judgment itself is the authoritative version.

Brief Facts

The CBI registered a case on 17.08.2022 and the ED a money-laundering case on 22.08.2022 over Delhi's new excise policy, alleging that the wholesale distributors' margin was raised from 5% to 12% to generate kickbacks (paras 3, 21, 24). Sisodia was in custody from 26.02.2023 in the CBI case and from 09.03.2023 in the ED case; chargesheets and a complaint were filed, with 294 and 162 witnesses and about 31,000 and 25,000 pages of documents, and arguments on charge had not begun (paras 4, 6). He appealed the refusal of bail.

Court's Findings

Applying Vijay Madanlal Choudhary, the Court formed only a tentative view (paras 8-9). Several of the ED's points were doubtful: the alleged Rs 2.2 crore bribe was not in the CBI chargesheet, AAP was not being prosecuted, and whether generating proceeds of crime is 'possession' was unclear (paras 10-13). Destruction of phones was not a weighty factor given the custody undergone (para 20). But one charge was free from perceptible legal challenge and tentatively supported: wholesale distributors earned about Rs 581 crore in fixed fees in about ten months under a policy allegedly framed to secure kickbacks, which also bore on the bribery charges (paras 21-24). Bail was therefore refused (para 25). Citing P. Chidambaram and Satender Kumar Antil, it noted that bail is not denied as a rule even in grave economic offences and that a speedy trial is part of Article 21 (para 26). Detention before conviction should not become punishment without trial, and economic offences are not to be equated with offences punishable with death or life imprisonment (para 28).

Legal Principle

The right to bail where the trial is delayed and custody is prolonged, depending on the nature of the allegations, is to be read into Section 439 CrPC and Section 45 PMLA, since the constitutional mandate of a speedy trial is the higher law (para 28).

Precedents Relied Upon

  1. Vijay Madanlal Choudhary and Others v. Union of India and Others (2022) SCC Online 929
    Relied Upon Discussed at ¶ 8, 13-14, 26

    Section 45 PMLA does not require a positive finding of innocence; a tentative view on broad probabilities suffices for bail.

  2. P. Chidambaram v. Directorate of Enforcement (2020) 13 SCC 791
    Relied Upon Discussed at ¶ 26

    Even in a grave economic offence it is not a rule that bail must be denied; each case turns on its facts.

  3. Satender Kumar Antil v. Central Bureau of Investigation and Another (2022) 10 SCC 51
    Relied Upon Discussed at ¶ 26

    The right to a speedy trial is a fundamental right within Article 21.

View all precedents (5)
  1. Mohan Lal v. State of Rajasthan (2015) 6 SCC 222
    Distinguished Discussed at ¶ 13, 15

    Possession needs physical control and animus; relied on by the ED for 'constructive possession' of proceeds of crime, which was held not assured.

  2. Y. Balaji v. Karthik Desari and Another (2023) SCC Online SC 645
    Referred To Discussed at ¶ 16-17

    Contours of Section 3 PMLA examined; whether generation of proceeds of crime is covered was left open.

Topics: Bail Economic Offences Speedy Trial Money Laundering Prolonged Pre-Trial Incarceration
NyayVidhan
Court Judgments · 2 min read
Decided: October 30, 2023 Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice S.V.N. Bhatti
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