The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to grant relief to Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia in his arrest in the alleged Delhi liquor policy scam case.

The court asked Sisodia to approach the Delhi High Court for bail.

"How can we entertain your plea? You have legal remedies available with you. Why approach us? We don’t want to set a wrong precedent, just because arrest was in Delhi does not mean that you move SC," the court said, suggesting that he move the Delhi High Court first.

Later, AAP said it would approach the Delhi court against Sisodia's arrest.

Sisodia has earlier in the day moved the Supreme Court, challenging his arrest by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with the Delhi excise of liquor "scam" case.

Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi mentioned the plea before the bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud and Justice PS Narasimha for urgent hearing on Tuesday.

Sisodia was arrested by the CBI in an alleged case of corruption relating to a now-scrapped excise policy on Sunday. He was sent to five-day custody of the CBI — till March 4 — on Monday amid nationwide protest by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

Read more | What led to Manish Sisodia's arrest in the Delhi liquor case

During a hearing on Monday, the CBI justified its grounds for arresting Sisodia and said the Delhi deputy chief minister was "evasive" during the eight-hour long interrogation. However, Sisodia's lawyer said his client has all the rights to be remain silent.

The case pertains to the alleged corruption by Sisodia and the AAP government in the formulation and implementation of Delhi's liquor policy for 2021-22. They were accused of bringing changes in the excise policy without the lieutenant governor's approval. Sisodia, however, refuted the claims. Read here what he said in court on Monday

Sisodia, who was represented by senior advocates Dayan Krishnan, Mohit Mathur and Siddharth Aggarwal, claimed that there was no evidence against him and opposed the CBI's plea for his remand.

"I (Sisodia) am the finance minister. I have to present the budget.... what changed yesterday that the finance minister was to be placed under custody? Was he not available for next days? Or was this arrest done for ulterior motive? This case is an assault on an individual as well as the institution. Remand will send a message, this is a fit case for declining remand," Sisodia's counsel told the court.

Despite his appeal, the Delhi court sent him to the CBI custody till March 4, as the counsel for the probe agency submitted that the arrested minister's custody was required for effective interrogation in the case.

Sisodia is the second important minister to get arrested after Satyendar Jain. Jain is currently lodged in Tihar jail in connection with a money laundering case registered by Enforcement Directorate. He is not an accused in the excise scam case.

First Published:Feb 28, 2023 10:37 AM IST