The Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to entertain Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia’s plea for bail and quashing of the FIR in the excise policy case, saying it would set a “wrong precedent” as “efficacious alternative remedies” are available to him.

It said Sisodia cannot approach the highest court directly and suggested that the AAP leader move Delhi High Court or any other appropriate court.

In the evening, Sisodia, along with minister Satyendra Jain, formally tendered their resignation from the cabinet. Jain was earlier arrested by the Enforcement Directorate for alleged money-laundering offences.

A bench of Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and Justice P.S. Narasimha rejected the precedent cited by senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for Sisodia, that the top court had intervened directly in the case of journalist Vinod Dua and Republic TV’s Arnab Goswami.

Justice Chandrachud reminded Singhvi that Goswami had approached the Supreme Court after Bombay High Court had declined to entertain his plea. In the case of Dua, the top court had intervened directly as it involved matters related to freedom of speech under Article 19(1).

“Vinod Dua’s case involved the freedom of free speech of a journalist, whereas, your case relates to corruption charges,” Justice Chandrachud observed.

The bench asked Singhvi to move Delhi High Court or explore remedies available under CrPC Section 482 for quashing of the cases registered against Sisodia.

“It will set a very wrong precedent. Just because an incident happens in Delhi doesn’t mean we are approached,” Justice Narasimha observed.

Rahul at Cambridge

London: Rahul Gandhi arrived in the UK on Tuesday to kick off his week-long tour with an address at the University of Cambridge and also hold discussions with Indian diaspora groups here.

The Opposition MP, who is a visiting Fellow of the Cambridge Judge Business School, will deliver a student-only lecture at the university on the subject of “Learning to Listen in the 21st Century”.

The business school has also indicated Rahul’s plans to hold “closed-door sessions” on “Big Data and Democracy” and “India-China relations” with Professor Shruti Kapila, an Indian-origin Fellow, tutor and director of studies at the university’s Corpus Christi College and co-director of the Global Humanities Initiative.

PTI