AAP hails Manish Sisodia’s bail as a victory for democracy

NEW DELHI: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Friday said release of former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia on bail from Tihar Jail after 17 months was the “victory of democracy.”

The senior AAP leader, an accused in excise policy “scam,” stepped out of jail on Friday evening after the Supreme Court granted him bail in corruption and money laundering cases.

“Bail granted to Sisodia by the Supreme Court is a tight slap on the dictatorship of the BJP and Narendra Modi government. The SC’s decision is a big victory for democracy and the judicial system. Despite not recovering a single penny, Sisodia was kept in jail for 17 months in a fake case,” the AAP alleged in a statement.

Sisodia was arrested by the CBI on February 26, 2023, in a corruption case linked to the excise policy “scam”. On March 9, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested him in a money-laundering case stemming from the CBI’s FIR. On Friday, the Apex Court granted him bail and sharply rebuked the courts below, saying that his long incarceration without trial had deprived him of the right to speedy justice.