The one thing which former Delhi deputy chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader apparently missed most all these past 17 months in jail in connection with the Delhi Liquor Policy case was a ‘bed tea’, the hot morning cuppa in the cozy comfort of the bed, at home in the company of his wife Seema.
Sisodia, who was granted bail by the Supreme Court on Friday in both the CBI and ED cases, posted a selfie of smiling himself and his wife, cups of tea in hand, on his personal ‘X’ handle on Saturday with a strong apparently politically coloured message in Hindi:
“Aazadi ki subah ki pehli chaye … 17 mahine baad!
“Veh aazadi jo samvidhan ne humm sab bharatiyon ko jeene ke adhikaar ki guarantee ki roop mein dee hai.
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“Veh aazadi jo eeshvar nein hamein sabke saath khuli hava nein saans lene ke liye dee hai.”
(“First morning tea of freedom…. after 17 months!
“That freedom which the Constitution has granted us all Indians in the form of guarantee of our right to live.
“That freedom granted to us by God which allows all of us to breath freely.”)
The primary premise of the Supreme Court bench of Justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan, which had reserved the judgment on August 6, in granting bail to Sisodia is the delay in commencement of the trial in the case.
The bail granted to Sisodia is expected to have a strong bearing on the dozens of similar cases, wherein various premier government investigating agencies are holding the accused in jail for long periods of time pending trial, especially in cases where political witch-hunting by the government is alleged.
“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 Court noted in its order on Sisodia’s bail plea, and added that there did not appear to the remotest possibility of the trial being completed in the near future considering that 495 witnesses and thousands of documents are to be examined.
Under the circumstances, to keep the accused in custody for an unlimited period would result in a grave violation of the fundamental right to personal liberty under Article 21, the judges observed.
The bench also rejected Additional Solicitor General SV Raju request to impose certain conditions on Sisodia akin to those imposed in the Arvin Kejriwal case, like he should not visit the Chief Minister’s office or the Delhi Secretariat.
However, the Court asked the former Delhi deputy CM to furnish bail bonds for a sum of Rs.10 lakhs with two sureties of the like sum and to surrender his passport. He will also be required to report to the investigating officer every Monday and Thursday.
Sisodia is an accused in two separate cases – one registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) under the Prevention of Corruption Act, and the other registered by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
He was arrested in 2023, first by CBI on February 26 and later by ED on March 9.
