Delhi L-G recommends CBI probe into alleged violation of excise policy

Delhi Lieutenant Governor (L-G) V K Saxena has recommended a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the government’s Excise Policy 2021-22 over alleged violation of rules and procedural lapses, triggering a war of words between the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party. 

The new Excise policy 2021-22 was implemented from November 17 last year under which retail licences were given to private bidders for 849 vends across the city divided into 32 zones.

Many liquor stores failed to open for being located in non-confirming areas of the city. Several such vends were sealed by the municipal corporations, sources said. The L-G has found “substantive indications” of “financial quid pro quo” at the "top political level" wherein the excise minister “took and got executed major decisions in violation of statutory provisions” and notified the Policy that had “huge financial implications”, sources said.

Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia heads the excise department of the government. “He (Sisodia) also extended undue financial favours to the liquor licensees much after the tenders had been awarded and thus caused huge losses to the exchequer,” sources said.

The BJP and Congress had vociferously opposed the policy and lodged complaint with the L-G as well as central agencies for a probe into it. 

The CBI inquiry was recommended on Delhi chief secretary's report filed earlier this month, showing prima facie violations of GNCTD Act 1991, Transaction of Business Rules (ToBR)-1993, Delhi Excise Act-2009 and Delhi Excise Rules-2010, officials said on Friday. A copy of the report was also sent to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal , they said.

Apart from this there were also “deliberate and gross procedural lapses" to provide post tender “undue benefits to liquor licensees”, said the officials.

 Saying that Sisodia is a “hardcore honest” man, Kejriwal feared that his deputy would be framed in a “completely fake case” by the CBI and arrested in a few days.

At an online press briefing, Kejriwal said he has known Sisodia for 22 years. “I came to know that a case has been sent to the CBI against Sisodia and the agency is going to arrest him in a few days. It is a completely fake case. There is not even an iota of truth in this case,” the national convenor of the AAP said. Kejriwal also said AAP leaders are not afraid of going to jail as they have done no wrong.

Union minister and senior BJP leader Meenakshi Lekhi alleged that the Kejriwal government violated rules and procedures and promoted cartelisation to benefit liquor firms in Delhi.

“The AAP government violated rules and procedures to promote cartelisation to benefit liquor companies in Delhi," Lekhi said, and claimed that a waiver of over Rs 144.36 crore was given to licensees and earnest money deposit worth Rs 30 crore of one company was refunded without following rules and processes.

The Excise department gave a waiver of Rs 144.36 crore to the licensees on the tendered license fee under the excuse of pandemic. It refunded earnest money of Rs 30 crore to the lowest bidder of the licence of Airport Zone, when it failed to obtain ‘NOC' from the airport authorities, claimed sources.  The "lapses" in awarding license for liquor vends were also reported by the Chief Secretary and the excise department also relaxed provisions of the tender document to provide undue financial favours to the retailers, instead of acting against them for default in payment of license fee, interest and penalty for non-genuine reasons, sources said.Some of the decisions taken by Sisodia were also redflagged by the then LG on being taken without the approval of Delhi Cabinet, they added.