Kejriwal summoned: Why CBI wants to question the Delhi CM in excise policy case

Responding to the summons, earlier today, Kejriwal said that he will go to the CBI as directed but claimed that there is an ongoing witch hunt against the Aam Aadmi Party and accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of being “steeped in corruption from head to toe.”

What is the liquor excise policy scam in which AAP leaders have been implicated?

In 2020, a new liquor policy was proposed by the Delhi government, which came into effect in November 2021. This policy marked the exit of the government in the business of selling liquor and divided the city into 32 zones, each having 27 private liquor vends. It was aimed at ensuring an equitable distribution of liquor vends, ending black marketing, increasing revenue from liquor sales and improving the consumer experience through provisions for discounts, home delivery and other offers.

However, even before the policy was implemented, red flags were being raised. After going through the proposal, in July 2022, Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar submitted a report to Manish Sisodia, flagging “procedural lapses” and irregularities in the new policy. A copy of this report was sent to the chief minister and the Lieutenant-Governor, as well as Delhi Police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW).

According to this report, Sisodia allegedly made changes to the excise policy without the approval of the L-G. For instance, “Excise department, under direct orders of Sisodia, decided to allow a waiver of Rs 144.36 crore singularly to the liquor cartel, on the tendered licence fee, under the excuse of the Covid pandemic,” the report said. The report also alleged that Sisodia gave undue benefits to liquor licensees by revising the rates of foreign liquor and removing the levy of an import pass fee of Rs 50 per case of beer. According to the report, this made foreign liquor cheaper for retail, leading to a loss of revenue for the state exchequer.

The allegations in the report led to an EOW investigation, during which, digital video recordings (DVRs) of excise department meetings held over 15 days in July 2022, including one on the night of July 11-12, which reportedly went on until 5 am, were collected. These DVRs are now being used as evidence against Sisodia and AAP’s wrongdoing in the liquor

What does the CBI’s FIR say?

On August 17, 2022, the CBI filed an FIR in connection with this case, naming 15 individuals, with Manish Sisodia topping the list. Two days later, the agency searched 21 locations in Delhi, including Sisodia’s residence. The first high-profile arrest the CBI made in the case was of Vijay Nair, AAP’s communication in-charge, on September 28.

The CBI FIR said that Sisodia, then Delhi Excise Commissioner Arava Gopi Krishna, and two other senior excise department officials were “instrumental in recommending and taking decisions pertaining to excise policy for the year 2021-22 without the approval of competent authority with an intention to extend undue favours to the licensee post tender”.

It accused Vijay Nair, a former CEO of entertainment and event management company Only Much Louder; Manoj Rai, a former employee of wine and spirits giant Pernod Ricard; Amandeep Dhal, the owner of Brindco Spirits; and Sameer Mahendru, the owner of Indospirit, of being “actively involved in irregularities in framing and implementation of excise policy”.

According to the FIR, “some of the L-1 licence holders are issuing credit notes to retail vendors with an ab initio intention to divert the funds as an undue pecuniary advantage to public servants,…showing false entries in their books of accounts to keep their record straight”.

What next?

Kejriwal has not been named by either the CBI or the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in their respective cases filed in connection with the excise policy. Thus, as of now, the summons to Kejriwal seems only to be for questioning and there is no indication that Kejriwal himself will be charged. However, AAP and other opposition parties have cried foul, arguing that the Centre is misusing its agencies to harass and intimidate political opponents.

“The very day he exposed, on the floor of Delhi Assembly, that the black money belonging to a businessman friend of Prime Minister Narendra Modi was actually his (the PM’s), I had told him that he would be next (to go behind bars),” AAP MP Sanjay Singh alleged.

“Arvind Kejriwal has been summoned by the CBI for questioning…. Wonderful…. I would urge the Prime Minister and the Home Minister to lock up all the Opposition leaders of the country… you keep working in a dictatorial way,” said RJD’s Rajya Sabha MP Manoj Kumar Jha.

The BJP has hit back at AAP, saying it is merely letting the law take its course.

“The moment Arvind Kejriwal was called for questioning by the CBI, he apparently started trembling with fear. This makes it quite clear that he is the real mastermind of the liquor scam,” BJP national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia said. “I want to ask you, if you are not afraid, why don’t you just go and answer the questions the CBI asks?” he added.