New Delhi: Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court on Thursday ordered the preservation of CCTV footage of May 23 of the court complex after Manish Sisodia’s legal team moved an application alleging that security personnel had misbehaved with him inside the court premises. The Delhi Police on Thursday also moved an application in Court seeking its permission to produce Sisodia only via video-conferencing, after allegations that he was manhandled.
Delhi Police said that video conferencing should be done as producing him physically ‘creates chaos’ with AAP supporters and mediapersons gathering in the corridors of the court. Noting the fact, Special Judge MK Nagpal made clear that till a decision is not taken on the application, Sisodia will be produced in court only through video conferencing and there will be no personal production in the court. Sisodia was also produced in court today through video conference from the court’s lockup.
Earlier, the Court took cognisance of the supplementary charge sheet filed against former Delhi Deputy CM Sisodia in the Money Laundering case related to the Delhi Excise policy case. The supplementary charge sheet filed by ED alleged that a proceed of the crime of around ? 622 crore has been generated due to activities of the present accused Manish Sisodia. The supplementary charge sheet was filed by special public prosecutor Naveen Kumar Matta. The supplementary charge has more than 2100 pages. The operating part has 271 pages. The charge has been filed within the stipulated period of 60 days.
Sisodia was arrested by the ED in this case on March 9. Earlier he was arrested by the CBI on February 26. He is the 29th accused arrested in this case. The CBI has already filed the charge sheet in the matter. His bail in the CBI case was dismissed by the High Court last week. His bail in the money laundering case is pending before the High Court. Earlier, the trial court had dismissed the bail plea of Sisodia in a money laundering case. While dismissing his bail Rouse Avenue Court had stated that ‘this case of economic offences having serious repercussions upon the general public and society at large as the evidence collected during investigation speaks volumes of his involvement in the commission of the said offence’.
Court also noted that some evidence is also alleged to have surfaced during the investigation to show that some part of the kickback or bribe amount received from South lobby was spent or utilized in connection with the election campaign of the AAP in Goa and some cash payments through hawala channels are alleged to have been sent to Goa for bearing the said expenses and even some fake invoices are alleged to have been created as a cover-up for the cash amounts transferred through hawala channels. It was stated that the above cash transfers were made as per instructions of the co-accused Vijay Nair, who was the representative of the applicant and the AAP and also the Media Incharge of AAP and looking after the work related to said elections and he also roped in a company named M/S Chariot Productions Media Pvt. Ltd. owned by the co-accused Rajesh Joshi to do the election-related advertising work and other jobs for the party during said elections, noted the court.
Thus, in view of the above background, the serious nature of the allegations made and the role played by the applicant in the above criminal conspiracy, his connection with the activities relating to the generation or acquisition and use etc. of the above proceeds of crime within the meaning of Section 3 of the PMLA and the oral and documentary evidence collected in support of the same and as placed for the perusal of the court, this court is of the considered opinion that even if the rigours and restrictions contained U/S 45 of the PMLA are viewed and construed reasonably, the prosecution has still been able to show a genuine and prima facie case for the involvement of the applicant in the commission of the alleged offence of money laundering. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on March 9 arrested Manish Sisodia in the liquor policy case, after hours of questioning at Tihar Jail. Sisodia was arrested by the CBI earlier in its ongoing investigation of a case related to alleged irregularities in the framing and implementation of the excise policy of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD).
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