'Satyamev Jayate', says AAP after SC grants bail to Vijay Nair

New Delhi: The AAP on Monday said "truth can be troubled but not defeated" after the Supreme Court granted bail to the party's former communication in-charge Vijay Nair in a money laundering case linked to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam.

Relying on the legal principle of "bail is rule and jail is exception" cited by a coordinate bench, the top court said pre-trial incarceration cannot be a punishment.

Delhi minister Atishi said in a post on X in Hindi, "Satyamev Jayate! The BJP central government conspired against the Aam Aadmi Party and put many party leaders in jail. But after Manish Sisodia and Vijay Nair got bail, it is proved that truth can be troubled but cannot be defeated."

Echoing similar views, former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia said Nair was kept in jail for 23 months without any proof.

"Satyamev Jayate. Another balloon of BJP's fabricated liquor scam story burst today. Vijay Nair was kept in jail for 23 months without any proof and without any recovery. The only aim was - if we cannot stop Arvind Kejriwal in elections, we should stop his entire team and him by getting them arrested by ED-CBI and keep him in jail. It may take time but in the end truth always triumphs," Sisodia said in a post on X in Hindi.

Nair, who was arrested by the agency on November 13, 2022, had challenged the trial court's July 29 order dismissing his default bail plea.

On July 3 last year, the Delhi High Court had refused to grant bail to Nair and other co-accused in the money laundering case.

The money laundering case stems from a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) FIR which was lodged after Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena recommended a probe into the alleged irregularities in the formulation and implementation of the now-scrapped Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22.