We have to think about poor litigants; cannot hear you at midnight: Supreme Court to businessman

The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to grant an early hearing in the bail plea filed by businessman Amandeep Singh Dhall in the case registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with Delhi excise policy scam [Amandeep Singh Dhall v Central Bureau of Investigation].

A Bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan said it cannot bypass the procedure and give out-of-turn hearing when poor litigants are in the queue.

"We have to think about poor litigants also. We cannot just bypass procedure of the Supreme Court or hear you at midnight," Justice Kant remarked.

This was after Senior Counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for Dhall, sought earlier listing of the matter given that Dhall recently got bail in the money laundering case against him in relation to the scam.

"Longest incarceration compared to other accused who got relief," he stressed.

The Bench eventually said it would list the matter, including an application for interim bail, sometime in the second week of October.

The CBI had arrested Dhall on April 18, 2023. He was the Managing Director of Brindco Sales Private Limited, a wholesale L-1 licensee.

As per the allegations, Dhall was involved in the formulation of Delhi liquor policy from the very beginning and was in close contact with co-accused Vijay Nair.

He was allegedly arranging meetings between Nair and various officials/ representatives of different liquor manufacturers at the stage of formulation of the excise policy.

The trial court dismissed Dhall's bail plea on June 9, 2023.

The Delhi High Court denied bail to him on June 4 this year prompting the appeal before the apex court.

The High Court noted that there are serious allegations against him, including that Dhall and his father had paid a bribe of ₹5 crore to an official of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to keep their names off the case.

The Supreme Court had recently granted bail to Aam Aadmi party leaders Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia in connection with the same case.

In the latter, it had taken critical note that the High Courts and trial courts appeared to be "playing it safe" when they routinely deny bail in criminal cases instead of granting bail as the norm.