Manish Sisodia case: What was the excise policy ‘scam’? Why has he not been able to get bail?

Moneycontrol gives a quick rundown on Sisodia’s arrest and why he had to file two bail petitions.

What is the Delhi excise policy row?

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

The policy also saw the closure of government-owned liquor stores and the grant of licences to run these stores to private parties. Furthermore, the policy recommended different registration criteria for different brands of liquor, depending on the pricing and sales figures outside Delhi. It also proposed a hike in the liquor vending licence fee from Rs 8 lakh to Rs 75 lakh a year.

However, in July 2022, Sisodia, who was the excise minister and deputy chief minister then, stated that the department would revert to the 'old regime' of the excise policy for a period of six months until a fresh policy was put in place. The rollback came amid allegations of corruption and favouritism in granting liquor licences. In August 2022, the CBI registered a case against Sisodia, then excise department officials, and businessmen on charges of cheating and bribery under the excise policy (2021-22).

The Enforcement Directorate also alleged that some AAP leaders benefited from the alleged scam and laundered the ill-gotten proceeds from the scam.

Manish Sisodia’s arrest and court litigation

In February 2023, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested Sisodia. Subsequently, the ED arrested Sisodia in a money-laundering case stemming from the CBI FIR on March 9 after questioning him in Tihar jail. Sisodia resigned from the Delhi Cabinet on February 28.

Initially, Sisodia moved the SC directly challenging the constitutional validity of his arrest. The court asked Sisodia to approach the Delhi HC or trial court to quash the FIR against him or obtain bail.

Sisodia then moved the Delhi HC for bail, however, on July 3, the high court declined his bail in the ED case pertaining to charges of money laundering, wherein irregularities in the city government's excise policy were alleged. The HC had observed that the charges against him were "very serious in nature".

The former deputy chief minister then filed a plea in the SC challenging the HC’s order. However, in October 2023, the SC dismissed Sisodia's bail pleas in the corruption and money laundering cases related to the now-scrapped excise policy for the national capital.

The apex court, however, directed that the trial should be completed within 6 to 8 months; if the trial proceeds slowly, Sisodia will be entitled to apply for bail again within three months. During the pronouncement, the SC orally observed that a money trail of Rs 338 crore is tentatively established.

In April 2024, Sisodia moved for bail the second time as his trial had not begun. However, the court rejected it holding that Sisodia and the other accused kept filing pleas, as a result of which the trial got delayed. He challenged this order in the HC and the same came to be rejected. The HC has also absolved the CBI and ED of creating any delay in the commencement of the trial in Sisodia’s case.