On Monday, incarcerated Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Manish Sisodia sought an expedited hearing of his two curative petitions in the Supreme Court. These petitions challenge the 2023 verdict that denied him bail in cases related to corruption and money laundering linked to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam.

Senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, representing Sisodia, informed a bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra that a trial court had deferred hearing Sisodia's bail plea until the curative petitions were decided. Singhvi emphasized the urgency of the matter.

In response, the bench suggested, "Just send an email, we will look at it." 

A Delhi court had previously postponed the hearing on Sisodia's bail plea, citing a pending application related to the case before the Supreme Court. On December 14, 2023, the apex court dismissed Sisodia's pleas seeking a review of its October 30 verdict, which had rejected his bail petitions in the corruption and money laundering cases linked to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam.

The Supreme Court, in its October ruling, had denied bail to Sisodia, asserting that the probe agencies' allegations of "windfall gains" amounting to Rs 338 crore by certain wholesale distributors were "tentatively supported" by evidence.

Manish Sisodia was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on February 26, 2023, for his alleged involvement in the scam. Subsequently, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested him in a money laundering case stemming from the CBI FIR on March 9, 2023, after questioning him in Tihar Jail. Sisodia had resigned from the Delhi cabinet on February 28, 2023.

The allegations revolve around the Delhi government's implementation of a new excise policy on November 17, 2021, which was later scrapped at the end of September 2022 amid corruption accusations. Investigating agencies claim that the profit margin for wholesalers was increased from 5 percent to 12 percent under the new policy. They further allege that the policy led to cartelization, favoring ineligible applicants for liquor licenses for monetary benefits.

Both the Delhi government and Manish Sisodia have vehemently denied any wrongdoing, contending that the new policy would have boosted the city government's revenue.