NEW DELHI: Former deputy chief minister of Delhi, Manish Sisodia, on Friday told a special court in Delhi that the CBI was causing him mental harassment by asking the same questions over and over again."They are not using third degree, but sitting for 8-9 hours and answering the same questions again and again too is mental harassment," Sisodia submitted before the court.
The court of special judge M K Nagpal later extended Sisodia’s custody with the CBI in the alleged scam in the Delhi excise policy by two days.
It will hear his bail application on March 10.
In a six-page order, the court said that “though the accused is found to have been extensively examined, questioned and confronted with his then secretary and the then excise commissioner of GNCTD on some vital aspects of the prosecution story, his confrontation with two other material witnesses is yet to be done and it is stated that their names have intentionally not been disclosed in the application so that the pending investigation of the case is not adversely affected”.The special judge added that it was observed from the case diary that one important file pertaining to a cabinet note prepared on the excise policy was yet to be traced and for which some further custodial interrogation of the accused may be necessary.The court then told the CBI officers not to ask Sisodia repetitive questions and to conduct his medical examination regularly.
"Please don't ask the same questions again and again.
If you have something new, ask him," the court remarked orally after Sisodia's submissions.
“It is desired that during this period, the IO shall complete all the above confrontation exercise and also the examination and interrogation of the accused for the above said purposes," it added.The court asserted that its directions in an order dated February 27, 2023 regarding his medical examination within a given time, his examination and interrogation at a place having CCTV coverage, meetings with his counsel and family members and providing of prescribed medicines to him shall continue with the same terms and conditions.Special public prosecutor Pankaj Gupta, appearing for the CBI, had earlier told the court that Sisodia was still to be confronted with some material witnesses, which could not take place during the five days due to lack of time.
Asking for extending Sisodia’s custody by three days, the SPP also told the court that he may need to be questioned for tracing a “missing file of a cabinet note prepared in respect to formulation of the excise policy of GNCTD".
The SPP told the court that one day of the five days of custody granted on February 27 was consumed in the Supreme Court and a "substantive time" was also consumed in getting the AAP leader medically examined every 48 hours.
Senior advocates Mohit Mathur and Dayan Krishnan, appearing for Sisodia, opposed the CBI’s plea for extending his custody.
They argued that five days were "more than enough for the purposes of extensive examination and interrogation" of the accused, including confronting him with all the oral and documentary evidence collected so far by the investigating officer, and there was no ground or reason made out for remanding the accused to CBI custody for any further period of time.
They said that even the facts and submissions in the application moved by the CBI "do not make out any case for grant or extension of CBI custody of the accused for any further period of time".
They argued that the investigating agency was not only under an obligation to justify the utilisation of previous police/CBI custody period of the accused, but it has to also come up with some fresh and legitimate grounds to seek his fresh police/CBI custody or extension, adding that "mere non-cooperation of accused or giving of evasive replies etc.
by him cannot be made grounds to extend his CBI custody”.
Arguing that remanding of an accused to police custody is an exception and even remanding of an accused to judicial custody has to be substantiated and supported by some valid and legitimate reasons and grounds, the counsels for Sisodia told the court that he cannot be expected to make self-incriminating statements in view of the right against self-incrimination conferred upon him by virtue of Article 20(3) of the Constitution.
When the court had earlier in the day asked the CBI why it needed three more days of custody, the SPP had replied that Sisodia was "still non-cooperative".Meanwhile, AAP workers gathered outside the Rouse Avenue court and raised slogans in favour of their jailed leader and against the Centre and BJP.WatchDelhi Excise Policy: Manish Sisodia leaves Rouse Avenue Court, CBI remand extends till March 6
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