In New Delhi, the erstwhile vice principal, Manish Sisodia, made a plea to the Delhi High Court on Thursday, seeking liberation from the grip of accusations of malfeasance and financial impropriety lodged by the CBI and the ED concerning the purported irregularities within the excise policy debacle.

The entreaty was articulated before a panel consisting of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Manmeet PS Arora, with an earnest plea for an expedited hearing, met with concurrence as the tribunal consented to schedule it for Friday. “Allow the adjudicator to peruse the dossier, hence let it be heard on the morrow,” opined the tribunal.

Advocates Rajat Bhardwaj and Mohd Irshad, advocating for Sisodia, contended that the petitioner, holding the mantle of an MLA, beseeched the tribunal to prioritize both petitions seeking release with a sense of immediacy. Sisodia has petitioned the higher echelons of the judiciary, contesting the decree of a lower court on April 30, which rebuffed his pleas for liberty in both litigations.

The lower tribunal denied Sisodia’s petitions for release in matters concerning graft and money laundering, initiated by both the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in association with the purported inconsistencies in the drafting and execution of the excise policy for the fiscal year 2021-22. The presiding judge declined to grant relief, asserting that the circumstances were not conducive to granting Sisodia bail.