Manish Sisodia sent to ED custody till March 17

New Delhi: A Delhi court Friday sent Delhi's former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia to ED's custody till March 17 for further interrogation in money laundering case in connection with alleged irregularities in the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy. 

Sisodia was produced before the special court in Rouse Avenue court complex at 2 pm.

There was heavy security presence within and outside the Rouse Avenue Courts.

The lawyer for the federal anti-money laundering probe agency alleged Sisodia made false statements about the 'scam' and that it wanted to unearth the modus operandi of the perpetrators and confront him with the other accused.

ED's counsel Zoheb Hossain also claimed before a special court that Sisodia destroyed his phone, an important piece of evidence in the investigation.

The claims of the ED counsel were contested by a battery of lawyers who represented Sisodia.

Senior advocates Dayan Krishnan, Mohit Mathur and Siddharth Aggarwal said the excise policy was accepted by the Lieutenant Governor who must have examined it.

Sisodia's lawyers while opposing the ED's plea for his custody, said it is the executive's job to make policy which goes through several layers of scrutiny.

"How can ED look into policy making in money-laundering case," the AAP leader's counsel asked the court.

"ED has not found a single penny from my client...the case is entirely based on hearsay," the lawyer said.

ED arrested the senior AAP leader on Thursday on money laundering charges in connection with alleged irregularities in the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy.

Sisodia was already in Tihar jail here after he was sent to 14-day judicial custody by a CBI court on March 6 in a related case lodged by the Central Bureau of Investigation in connection with alleged corruption in the formulation and implementation of the excise policy for 2021-22. He was arrested by the CBI on February 26.

The bail petition filed by Sisodia, which was due for hearing on Friday before special judge MK Nagpal, will now be heard on March 21.