Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court on Saturday extended arrested former Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia's custody with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) by two more days. The court deferred the hearing on Sisodia's bail plea to March 10 and asked the CBI to file a reply to the same.
The CBI had sought a three-day extension of Sisodia’s custody saying he was “still non-cooperative”.
Senior Advocate Dayan Krishnan appearing for the former Delhi minister opposed the CBI application and argued that seeking an extension of remand by CBI was not justified.
In his bail request, Manish Sisodia had written that keeping him in custody served “no fruitful purpose” as there were no more recoveries to be made.
Special judge MK Nagpal also directed the CBI not to ask him the same questions repeatedly after Sisodia alleged "mental harassment" for making him sit "eight to nine hours, answering the same questions again and again".
Ahead of the hearing, Aam Aadmi Party workers staged a protest near its office in Central Delhi demanding the release of the former Delhi deputy chief minister. The protest erupted only a few metres from the Rouse Avenue court on Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg where Sisodia was to appear today.
Scores of AAP workers were seen raising slogans like 'Manish Sisodia ko riha karo' (release Manish Sisodia) amid heavy barricading and police deployment. The AAP has alleged that Sisodia was arrested to obstruct the "good work" being done by the Delhi government in the education sector.
Sisodia was arrested by the CBI on the evening of February 26 over alleged corruption in the formulation and implementation of the now-scrapped liquor policy for 2021-22. He was granted five-day CBI custody on Monday.
