New Delhi: The Rouse Avenue court on Friday requested a fresh status report of the investigation from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the Delhi Excise policy case. The CBI had earlier stated that the investigation is ongoing. Former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia appeared through video conferencing from Tihar jail. Special CBI judge MK Nagpal closed the opportunity for accused persons to inspect documents at the CBI office, stating that sufficient time had been given. The court also mentioned that the matter should be listed for arguments to frame charges.

At this point, counsels for the accused persons argued that CBI has not yet concluded the investigation. Consequently, the court called for the status report so that arguments on the charges could commence. The counsel also noted that the status of the investigation by the CBI was not clear, prompting the court to request the status report. The court extended the judicial custody of Manish Sisodia and other accused persons until February 5, 2024. Meanwhile, a fresh compliance report was filed by the Investigating Officer, stating that the search list has been supplied. According to the compliance report, a set of DVDs containing charge sheets and relied-upon documents were provided to the counsel for the accused, the court noted.

The court refused to direct the CBI to supply documents seized during a search at the residence and office of Manish Sisodia to him. The court mentioned that there was no provision to supply the documents seized during the search, and the issue of legality would be considered during the trial. However, the court criticized the jail authorities for not informing that Manish Sisodia would be produced through video conferencing. On December 22, 2023, the court directed the CBI to depute sufficient staff to facilitate the inspection of documents at its headquarters. The special judge had granted time to counsel of the accused until January 15 to inspect the documents at the CBI Headquarters between 10 am to 7 pm. The court also directed the CBI to file a compliance report after the inspection of documents.

The court also instructed the Investigating Officer to provide Hindi or English translations of documents if any of them are in the local language of other states. Counsel for one of the accused had submitted that there were some documents in other languages than Hindi or English. Former Deputy CM Manish Sisodia is an accused in both the CBI and money laundering cases. Charge sheets have been filed against Sisodia and other accused persons in both cases. The Supreme Court of India had earlier dismissed the bail petition of Sisodia, whose bail applications were rejected by the High Court as well as the trial court. Sisodia was arrested by the CBI on February 26, and the ED arrested him on March 9. The ED alleged that proceeds of crime amounting to Rs 622 crore had been generated due to the activities of accused Manish Sisodia.

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