New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Tuesday filed a supplementary chargesheet against former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia and three others for alleged irregularities in framing and implementation of the now-scrapped (2021-22) excise policy.
In the chargesheet, the agency terms Sisodia the “chief architect” of the alleged conspiracy, while also alleging that he “pressured” excise officials when they did not grant a wholesale licence to one liquor manufacturer.
This is the first chargesheet filed by any central agency in which Sisodia has been named.
According to a source in the CBI, the agency has added to the chargesheet section 201 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which pertains to “causing disappearance of evidence or giving false information to screen offender”.
The source adds that the agency invoked this charge after its investigation revealed that some relevant documents including cabinet notes related to the policy and mobile phones which had communication relevant to the case, were destroyed.
“During the investigation, certain documents were missing and no one was able to present them. Sections of destruction of evidence, along with some sections under the Prevention of Corruption Act, have been added to the chargesheet,” says the source.
Among those named in the chargesheet are Sisodia, Hyderabad-based chartered accountant Butchi Babu, Brindco Spirits owner Amandeep Dhal and Arjun Pandey, an alleged middleman.
The CBI’s earlier chargesheet, filed on 25 November last year, named the former CEO of a Mumbai-based private company and six others including Delhi’s then deputy commissioner (excise) and assistant commissioner (excise).
The case pertains to alleged irregularities including modifications in the now-withdrawn excise policy, extension of undue favours to licensees like waivers and reduction in the licence fee, and extension of L-1 licences (granted to business entities with experience of wholesale distribution in the liquor trade) without a prior approval.
On 22 July last year, Delhi L-G Vinai Kumar Saxena had recommended a CBI probe into the Arvind Kejriwal-led government’s Excise Policy 2021-22, citing an assessment report prepared by Delhi Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar to allege “deliberate and gross procedural lapses”.
According to the CBI chargesheet, said excise policy was framed by top leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) allegedly to continuously “generate and channel illegal funds to themselves”. In an earlier chargesheet, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had said that the policy was formed with “deliberate loopholes to facilitate illegal and criminal activities”.
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CBI: ‘Sisodia chief architect of conspiracy’
According to the CBI’s supplementary chargesheet, the agency has evidence to show that Sisodia is the “chief architect of the conspiracy of tweaking and manipulating the formation and implementation of the policy for causing pecuniary advantage”. It goes further to allege that Sisodia “misused his powers to introduce favourable provisions in the new policy”.
“This was done to facilitate the monopolisation of wholesale and retail liquor trade for the accused persons of the South Group for syphoning off six per cent out of the 12 per cent windfall profit margin for wholesalers provided in the policy in lieu of upfront money of Rs 100 crore paid by the South Group,” says the source quoted earlier.
The ‘South Group’ in question comprises Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) MLC K. Kavitha — who is also the daughter of Telangana CM KCR — and Hyderabad-based businessman Abhishek Boinpally, among others.
“Out of the said amount, Rs 30 crore was paid through hawala channels,” the source adds.
According to an earlier chargesheet filed by the ED, AAP media and communications in-charge Vijay Nair allegedly received Rs 100 crore, some of which was allegedly channelled into the AAP’s poll campaign in Goa.
It is also alleged in chargesheets filed by both agencies that the proposed liquor policy gave way to an “exorbitant profit margin at 12 per cent and huge retail profit margin of 185 per cent”.
‘Pressured excise officials’
The CBI’s supplementary chargesheet also mentions that Sisodia hiked the wholesale profit margin from 5 per cent to 12 per cent without any justification. “Investigation revealed that South Group was to recoup the money by such increased profit margin. Six out of 12 per cent was to be paid to the South Group,” says the source quoted earlier.
According to the supplementary chargesheet, the excise policy was an “utter disregard to the recommendations by an expert committee headed by then Excise Commissioner Ravi Dhawan since the same did not favour the South Group”.
It says that no minutes of actual discussions in the Group of Ministers (GoM) meetings were recorded and prepared. Moreover, it adds that the file containing the cabinet note containing references to such opinions by legal experts is missing.
It is also alleged in the chargesheet that Sisodia threatened and pressured various officials including excise commissioners when they did not accede to his demands. “He (Sisodia) pressured excise officials to grant a wholesale licence to one manufacturer — Indospirts, despite the pendency of complaints of cartelization against his firm,” the source adds.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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