New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear the bail pleas of Aam Aadmi Party leader Manish Sisodia on July 14 in the excise policy scam case probed by the CBI and the money laundering matter arising out of it.

A bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice PS Narasimha agreed to hear the matter after senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for the former Delhi deputy chief minister, urged the court to take it up for hearing on grounds that his wife was seriously ill and hospitalised.

The bench said although the matter is listed for hearing on July 17, it will take it up for hearing on July 14.

Last week, Sisodia had moved the top court seeking bail in the CBI and ED cases related to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam.

He has moved the apex court challenging the two orders of the Delhi High Court dismissing his bail petitions in these cases.

Sisodia, who also held the excise portfolio among many that he handled as the deputy chief minister of Delhi, was first arrested by the CBI on February 26 for his alleged role in the "scam", and has been in custody since then.

He resigned from the Delhi cabinet on February 28.

The high court had on May 30 denied bail to him in the excise policy scam case being probed by the CBI, saying having been the deputy chief minister and excise minister, he is a "high-profile" person who has the potential to influence the witnesses.

On July 3, the high court had declined him bail in a money laundering case linked to alleged irregularities in the city government's excise policy, holding the charges against him were "very serious in nature".

Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.



Bhopal (PTI): A Bhopal-bound Air India flight from Mumbai carrying 175 persons on board made a “priority” landing here on Sunday due to a snag, an airport official said.

The aircraft landed safely at Bhopal airport at 3.20 pm, he said.

Consequently, the return leg of the flight from Bhopal to Mumbai, with 178 passengers booked, was cancelled, the official said.

AAI-run Bhopal airport said in a statement that Air India flight AI 633 “reported a technical issue to Air Traffic Control (ATC) during the flight from Mumbai to Bhopal”.

Immediately, all prescribed safety protocols were activated, and seamless coordination was ensured between ATC, airline ground operations, CISF and airpiort fire and rescue team of Bhopal airport, it said in a statement.

The flight, carrying 175 persons, including 166 passengers and nine crew members, landed safely at Bhopal airport at 3.20 pm, the airport operator said.

All necessary assistance and support were extended by the airport and airline teams as per the requirements of the flight crew, it said.

“Due to the technical issue, the aircraft was declared unserviceable, and as a precautionary measure, the return flight AI-634 (Bhopal to Mumbai) was cancelled by the airline to facilitate detailed inspection and rectification,” the statement said.