The Supreme Court on December 8 granted bail to liquor giant Pernod Ricard executive Benoy Babu in a money laundering case related to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam, which also involves AAP leaders Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh. Senior advocate Harish Salve appeared for Babu and argued that he has been in custody for the last 13 months and he does not occupy a policy making position in Pernod Ricard. Salve further told the court that the trial against Babu is yet to begin and added that it would be unfair to keep him in custody.
Appearing for the Enforcement Directorate (ED) additional solicitor general SC Raju objected to Babu being granted a bail and told the court that his trial would conclude in six months.
The SC however noted that Babu cannot be kept in custody for this long a time since the trial against him has not commenced yet. Furthermore, the SC orally observed that there seem to be contradictions between the allegations made against him by the ED and the allegations made against by the CBI. The court thus granted bail to Babu in the peculiar circumstances of the case.
In July 2023, the Delhi HC denied bail to Babu, who then approached the supreme court in an appeal against the HC order denying him bail.
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, the Delhi government announced on July 30 that the excise policy that was implemented in November 2022 was being rolled back. The announcement had come just two days before the new liquor policy expired.
The rollback came amid allegations of corruption and favouritism in granting liquor licences.
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