Delhi liquor policy raids: Big-ticket arrests and all that you need to know

Manish Sisodia

The alleged scam over Delhi Liquor Policy case took a fresh turn on February 26, with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arresting Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia after questioning him for more than eight hours during the day.

Before arresting Sisodia, the officials of the Anti-Corruption Branch of the CBI grilled the minister on various aspects of the Excise policy, his alleged link with Dinesh Arora and other accused in the FIR, and details of message exchanges from multiple phones among others, officials told news agency PTI.

In the light of the arrest, here's all you need to know about the Delhi liquor excise policy (now scrapped by the Aam Aadmi Party) scam:

In March 2021, AAP government had announced a slew of changes in the liquor excise policy. Apart from lowering the drinking age from 25 to 21, the government has also proposed the establishment of five “super-premium” vends, which will offer the best liquor brands and high-end walk-in experiences.

However, the policy was withdrawn within eight months of its rollout amid allegations of corruption and favouritism in granting liquor licence.

In July last year, Sisodia, who also heads the excise department of the Delhi government, directed the department to revert to the 'old regime' of the excise policy for a period of six months till a fresh policy comes in place.

However, in August, the CBI registered a case against Sisodia, then excise department officials and businessmen on charges of cheating, bribery in new excise policy (2021-22).

ALSO READ: Explained | All you need to know about Delhi's new excise policy

Search operations in connection with the Delhi Excise Policy row were launched by the probe agency at several locations across the country from August 19 including at properties associated with Delhi’s Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, who also holds the excise portfolio.

The raids were carried out by the CBI on the recommendation of Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena, who had alleged violation of rules along with procedural lapses related to the Arvind Kejriwal government’s Excise Policy 2021-22. A report filed by Delhi’s Chief Secretary in July noted prima facie violations of the GNCTD Act 1991, Transaction of Business Rules (ToBR)-1993, Delhi Excise Act-2009, and Delhi Excise Rules-2010, they said. Further, it was reportedly found that the procedural lapses were an attempt to provide “undue benefits to liquor licensees”.

The raids came weeks after Sisodia had written to the central investigation agency to point out how Delhi’s former lieutenant governor Anil Baijal had suddenly altered his opinion on opening liquor stores in unauthorised areas. He had also highlighted how the LG’s decision to revoke his approval for the policy led to losses worth thousands of crores to the government, News18 reported.

With the introduction of the Excise Policy 2021-22, the Delhi government had withdrawn from the liquor business, letting only private players operate liquor stores. Licenses were issued to 849 retail vendors via open bidding by the excise department. However, the Delhi government had on July 30 announced that the Excise Policy that was implemented in November last year is being rolled back. The announcement had come just two days before the new liquor policy expired.

While the AAP government has claimed that the BJP is using central agencies like the CBI to threaten liquor licensees, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has alleged that the excise policy was implemented to benefit the liquor mafia.