REPLIES SOUGHT AFTER CBI’S PLEA AGAINST BAIL IN LIQUOR CASE

NEW DELHI: The Delhi high court on Thursday sought the response of Vijay Nair, a businessman associated with the Aam Aadmi Party, and Abhishek Boinpally, a consultant, on petitions by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) challenging the bail granted to the two in connection with its probe into the alleged corruption in Delhi excise policy 2021-22.

During the hearing, justice Yogesh Khanna asked the agency why it was seeking a stay when both were in custody already.

“They are already in custody (in the ED case). Why do you want a stay in that order? Let them file a reply,” justice Khanna said, and deferred the hearing on the CBI’S stay application to December 5.

In September, CBI arrested Nair for his alleged role in the “cartelisation” and “conspiracy” related to alleged irregularities in the allocation of the licences, and in October, Boinpally was arrested for allegedly working as a middleman in “facilitating cartelisation”. They have denied all charges, and the AAP has called the case fake.