CBI Grills Manish Sisodia in Liquor Policy Case, AAP Fumes: How Did He Get Here?

He has asserted that it is a BJP ploy to stop him from campaigning in poll-bound Gujarat.

New Delhi: AAP leaders Sanjay Singh, Atishi and others accompany Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia in solidarity as he leaves for the CBI headquarters.

(Photo: PTI/altered by The Quint)

"Gujarat results will be out on 8 December. These people will keep Manish in jail till then. So that Manish does not go for campaigning in Gujarat elections," tweeted Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convener Arvind Kejriwal on Monday, 17 October, as Manish Sisodia arrived at the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) flanked by party workers.

Even as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) mocked Sisodia's rally calling it Jashen-e-Bhrashtachar (celebration of corruption), the AAP was steadfas on its narrative of "leaders being targeted ahead of Gujarat elections."

Several leaders through the day said that "they fear Sisodia will be arrested today," a sentiment that is being echoed by the party ever since the investigation in the Delhi government's liquor policy was launched.

 New Delhi: Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia flashes victory sign as he leaves for the CBI headquarters, in New Delhi. Sisodia has been summoned by the CBI for questioning in connection with the excise policy probe.

New Delhi: Delhi Dy CM Manish Sisodia arrives at the CBI headquarters for questioning in connection with the excise policy probe, in New Delhi, Monday, Oct 17, 2022.

AAP leaders and workers also protested outside the CBI office to express support for Sisodia, and several people including Sanjay Singh, Rakhi Birla, and Kuldeep Kumar among others were detained by the police.

But, how did Sisodia reach here? Here's a look at the case, the claims, the allegations, and the timeline:

The Expert Committee Report

It all started with an expert committee report, titled Report of Expert Committee suggesting measures for various reforms in Liquor trade in Delhi, which stated that "the changing demography and stature of the national capital necessitates reforms in the existing Excise policy and regulations in Delhi to augment revenue collection and ensure equitable access of authorized liquor to all."

Some other recommendations included:

• Simplifying liquor pricing mechanism

• Checking malpractices and evasion of duty in liquor trade

• Transform the nature of liquor trade commensurate to the changing stature in the national capital

The report also provided projections of the "approximate revenue implications of the proposed reforms."

(Photo: screenshot of the report)

Delhi Government's Implements New Excise Policy

The expert committee report was sent to the Delhi government's cabinet in February 2021. A group of ministers headed by Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia was formed to study the recommendations of the liquor policy.

After the cabinet's approval in April, the government's Excise Policy 2021-22 was sent to Delhi Lieutenant Governor (LG) Anil Baijal for his approval but the latter advised the government to re-examine the policy.

To incorporate these recommendations, another cabinet meeting took place in May 2021, and the policy was revised after, as claimed by Sisodia later on, accepting all the changes asked for by Baijal.

The new policy draft was sent to the LG in June, who accepted it. Finally, on 17 November 2021, the Excise Policy 2021-22 kicked in, shutting down 600 government vends to be replaced by privately owned liquor shops, as many as 850 of them. A detailed understanding of the policy can be found here.

The CBI Probe

The drama began when the chief secretary of the Delhi government, Naresh Kumar, submitted a report on 8 July to the new Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena. It alleged that the new policy had an "ulterior motive of monetary gains", which led to Saxena recommending a probe into policy by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which comes under the Bharatiya Janata Party-led central government.

An FIR was lodged on 17 August 2022 and against 15 persons, including Manish Sisodia. The full list of accused can be found below. Some of the important names include the then Excise Commissioner Arva Gopi Krishna, Deputy Commissioner Anand Tiwari, and Assistant Commissioner Pankaj Bhatnagar.

The CBI's list of accused in the Delhi excise policy case. 

(Photo: accessed by The Quint)

The FIR states that the accused have been booked for "criminal conspiracy, falsification of account and undue advantage." CBI officials have also stated that there were "deliberate and gross procedural lapses" overseen by Sisodia to provide "undue benefits to liquor licensees."

On the morning of 19 August, the CBI carried out raid at 21 locations in the Delhi-NCR region with respect to the case, including at the premises of Sisodia and Arava Gopi Krishna.

Sisodia has, since the raids, continued to maintain his innocence. In fact, he has asserted that the Bharatiya Janata Party is targeting him for his contributions to Delhi's education system. He posted the following two tweets on the day the FIR was filed.

Reverting Back to the Old Policy

Amid these allegations of corruption and irregularities, the Delhi government decided to bring back the old excise policy from 1 September. This is now expected to be in place for the next six months till a new policy emerges for the next financial year.

Going back to the old policy means that only government liquor shops are running across the Delhi-NCR region, and private players have been forced to relinquish their contracts.

On the first of the return of the old policy, around 300 government shops were opened, and 500 of them had sprouted by the end of the first week. Meanwhile, the CBI investigation continued.

Vijay Nair and Abhishek Boinpally: The CBI Arrests Begin

On 28 September, the AAP's social media strategist Vijay Nair was first person to be arrested among the 15 people mentioned in the CBI chargesheet.

The CBI's FIR against him had stated, "Reliable sources have revealed that Vijay Nair, former CEO of Only Much Louder, an entertainment and event management company" is "actively involved in irregularities in framing and implementation of excise policy."

Sources within the AAP told The Quint that Nair was jailed because he "knows how to counter the BJP."

Then, a second arrest was made, this time of Hyderabad-based businessman Abhishek Boinpally, who was sent to three-day CBI custody (later extended) by a Delhi court on 10 October. Interestingly, this is a man whose name is present in the CBI's list of 15, although his alleged associate Arun Ramchandra Pillai is on that list. The CBI has stated that Boinpally is not cooperating with the investigation and claims to be investigating monetary transactions worth Rs 3.85 crore, according to The Indian Express.

How is the ED Involved?

Along with the CBI, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted raids at 25 locations in Delhi on 6 September in connection with the excise policy case.

The morning after the CBI arrested Vijay Nair on 28 September, the ED arrested liquor businessman Sameer Mahendru in connection with a money laundering investigation that it claims is linked to the CBI's excise policy case. He was taken into custody under the sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Then, on 7 October, the ED conducted searches at 35 locations in Delhi and Punjab, claiming that the searches are part of the investigation.

At the time, Kejriwal had tweeted, "More than 500 raids, since 3 months, more than 300 CBI/ED officers are working 24 hours to find evidence against Manish Sisodia. Can't find anything because nothing was done. Time of so many officers is being wasted for their dirty politics. How will such a country progress?"

For its part, the ED has alleged that major irregularities were committed by the Delhi government while implementing the new excise policy, like "favours" being extended to liquor license holders.

Spotlight on Sisodia

In mid-September, a "sting video" was released by the BJP in which Amit Arora (name number 9 on the CBI list) is heard claiming that the AAP government deliberately ensured the monopoly of a few businessmen in the market under the now-withdrawn policy.

Delhi BJP leaders even carried out a signature campaign to get Sisodia out of the AAP government over the alleged scam.

Nevertheless, Sisodia has held on, continuously and ferociously denying any wrongdoing.