By D N Singh
According to some political analysts who claim unbiased stance in their approach to politics, that so much doggedness invested on the Sisodia case after so many exhaustive raids and interrogations somewhere smacks of more politics than the cleanliness in politics that the BJP espouses.
A remand is always perceived compulsive when the accused skirts summons or tries to tamper with the evidences or tries to run away from India. But, none of such risks has been apprehended in the case of Manish Sisodia.
So why did the apex court turn Singhvi’s plea away?
It can be recalled that the apex court the bench drew distinctions between the cases cited and Sisodia’s plea. They told Singhvi that the Vinod Dua case was of a journalist facing a sedition charge (while Sisodia is a deputy chief minister facing charges under the Prevention of Corruption Act), and Goswami had first gone to the High Court.
When the lawyer pointed out that the Delhi High Court judge responsible for the roster is not holding a sitting on most days as he is busy with the UAPA Tribunal work in a PFI case, the apex court reportedly remained unmoved.
And before that, what are the offences alleged against Manish Sisodia? What else have his lawyers said? And why was he remanded?
Thus, Singhvi said, in order to arrest him, the authorities need absolute necessity of arrest ie the triple test – flight risk, not attending summons, criminal interference. None of these arise, he noted, as:
– His client, by virtue of his high government profile, isn’t at flight risk
– Has complied with all summons
– Has no record or likelihood of evidence tampering
What does the arrest of Manish Sisodia — the second-in-command in Delhi government and one of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s most trusted aides — mean for AAP?
Early morning on Sunday, before going to the CBI office, Sisodia, while addressing the people of Delhi said he is “not scared of false and fabricated charges.”
“I may have to stay in jail for 7-8 months but the country needs a leader like you (…Arvind Kejriwal). Continue serving the people. We have full faith in you. We are not going to get scared of these jails, false and fabricated cases. Even CBI-ED who have filed these fake cases, know that we have not done anything wrong, They are under pressure.”
A series of press conferences were addressed by leaders from both AAP and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) criticising and justifying the questioning and subsequent arrest of Sisodia.
“The BJP has been saying Manish Sisodia is corrupt. But they haven’t been able to prove any allegation against him. His arrest is a matter of attacking AAP and Kejriwal’s popularity,” said AAP leader Atishi in one of her statements to the media..
Even Chief Minister Kejriwal came out in Sisodia’s defence and termed his” arrest as politically motivated”.
One thing is distinct that, the timing when the AAP is making itself battle-ready for the 2024 mega polls, the stifle a leader as Sisodia can be perceived as a lethal blow for AAP or Kjriwal.
With inputs from LiveLaw
