Why SC rejected the bail of Ex. Delhi CM , Manish Sisodia even when he is not proven guilty yet

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Cases Covered:

MANISH SISODIA Vs CENTRAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION

Citations:

Vijay Madanlal Choudhary and Others v. Union of India and Others
Ravinder Singh v. State of Haryana
Mohan Lal v. State of Rajasthan
Y. Balaji v. Karthik Desari and Another
P. Chidambaram v. Directorate of Enforcement
Shri Gurbaksh Singh Sibbia and Others v. State of Punjab
Sanjay Chandra v. Central Bureau of Investigation
Satender Kumar Antil v. Central Bureau of Investigation and Another
Surinder Singh Alias Shingara Singh v. State of Punjab
Kashmira Singh v. State of Punjab
Arnab Manoranjan Goswami v. State of Maharashtra and Others

Facts of the cases:

In this case the CBI and DoE filed two chargesheets against the Ex chief minister of Delhi, Manish Sisodia. He was accused of drafting the new liquor policy to benefit some big Liquor manufacturers and get a kickback as bribe from them.
The CBI had 294 witnesses and 3100 pages of documents and the DoE had 162 witnesses and 25000 pages of Documents.
He is already in jail from February 2023. Now this writ was filed for bail. Many past judgments were discussed.
The Counsel for the appellant said that there is no proof against the Ex Delhi CM and that the base made by CBI and DoE is not sufficient to convict him and keep him in jail.

Observation & Judgement of the Court:

The honorable Supreme Court accepted the facts and also expressed concern about keeping him in jail for long. The court said;
“The allegations have to be established and proven. The right to bail in cases of delay, coupled with incarceration for a long period, depending on the nature of the allegations, should be read into Section 439 of the Code and Section 45 of the PML Act. The reason is that the constitutional mandate is the higher law, and it is the basic right of the person charged with an offense and not convicted, that he be ensured and given a speedy trial. When the trial is not proceeding for reasons not attributable to the accused, the court, unless there are good reasons, may well be guided to exercise the power to grant bail. This would be truer where the trial would take years.”
Given the assurance given at the Bar on behalf of the prosecution that they shall conclude the trial by taking appropriate steps within the next six to eight months, we give liberty to the appellant – Manish Sisodia to move a fresh application for bail in case of change in circumstances, or in case the trial is protracted and proceeds at a snail’s pace in next three months.

Comment:

Bail not granted to Ex Delhi CM, Manish Sisodia. Although the court accepted he is in jail for long and he should be eligible for freedom. But on the promise of speedy trial by the bar, The court withheld his bail and asked him to choose any other course of action if required. The court allowed him to file for bail again and if the trial is slow then he should be eligible to get bail

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