After Sisodia And Kavitha, Former AAP Functionary Vijay Nair Gets Bail From Supreme Court In Delhi Liquor Policy Case

After former Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi Manish Sisodia and Bharat Rashtra Samithi MLC K Kavitha, another accused in the liquor policy case has been granted bail by the Supreme Court.

Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) former communications-in-charge Vijay Nair was granted bail on Monday (2 September) by a bench of Justice Hrishikesh Roy and Justice SVN Bhatti after spending nearly 23 months in jail.

The principle of "bail as the rule and jail as the exception" was implied as the court noted that the accused cannot be kept in jail for such a long duration when the sentence can only be seven years maximum in the event of a conviction.

The Supreme Court was hearing Nair's challenge to the Delhi High Court order which denied him bail. The High Court upheld the trial court's decision which denied bail on the suspicion of the possibility of evidence tampering.

Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing Nair argued citing Sisodia and Kavitha's cases. Additional Solicitor General SV Raju argued against bail citing Section 45 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The Supreme Court underscored the importance of a speedy trial and the fundamental right to liberty as guaranteed by Article 21 of the Constitution, stating that these rights cannot be overridden by Section 45 of PMLA.

Nair is accused of playing an important role in formulating the now-scrapped 2021 excise policy and met other accused like Magunta Reddy and Kavitha to receive kickbacks of policy for AAP's election campaign.