[Excise Policy Scam] Why Arvind Kejriwal Hastily Approved Liquor Policy? CBI In Remand Plea

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According to the CBI’s remand application filed at Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court, the file related to the now-scrapped liquor policy was moved hastily during the peak of the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic.

[Excise Policy Scam] CBI Claims Arvind Kejriwal Hastily Approved Liquor Policy

NEW DELHI: On 26th June: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday in connection with the liquor policy case, securing a three-day custody for further interrogation. According to the CBI’s remand application filed at Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court, the file related to the now-scrapped liquor policy was moved hastily during the peak of the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic.

Special judge Amitabh Rawat stated that Kejriwal was being placed in the agency’s custody due to “the factum of the investigation leading to the arrest of the accused, the role ascribed to him, and the necessity to confront him with the evidence.” He also cautioned the agency against being “overzealous.”

During Arvind Kejriwal’s hearing, the judge acknowledged that while an investigation is the CBI’s prerogative, certain legal safeguards must be observed. He based his decision on the presented evidence, stating that the arrest couldn’t be deemed illegal at this stage. “The agency, however, should not be overzealous,” he reiterated.

The judge also directed that Kejriwal should undergo medical examination and be allowed daily meetings with his wife and lawyer.

The CBI’s action followed the Delhi High Court’s stay on the bail granted to the AAP chief by the trial court. According to the CBI, Kejriwal allegedly asked then YSRCP Lok Sabha MP Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy to provide “monetary funding to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)” while promising support for the liquor business in Delhi. The CBI identified Kejriwal as a principal conspirator in the irregularities related to the now-scrapped excise policy 2021-22.

“Arvind Kejriwal is one of the main conspirators of the criminal conspiracy in the commission of offenses herein (referring to the excise policy). It has been revealed that Vijay Nair (former media in-charge of AAP), a close associate of Kejriwal, was contacting various liquor manufacturers and traders and demanding undue gratification since March 2021, for incorporating provisions favorable to them in the upcoming Delhi excise policy 2021-22,” the CBI stated.

The agency further claimed that AAP received Rs 100 crore as kickbacks, with Rs 44.45 crore funneled into the Goa election campaign.

Arvind Kejriwal, asserting his innocence, accused the CBI of sensationalizing the issue.

“It is being run in the media through CBI sources that I have a statement putting the entire blame on (former Delhi deputy chief minister) Manish Sisodia. I have not given any such statement that Sisodia or anyone else is guilty. I have said Sisodia is innocent, the AAP is innocent, I am innocent. Their entire plan is to defame us in the media. Please record that all these have been run in the media through CBI sources,” Kejriwal told the court.

In response, the CBI denied any media leaks, with the agency’s lawyer asserting that the case was being argued based on facts.

Pravesh Jha, Additional Secretary to Kejriwal, confirmed that Kejriwal’s Personal Secretary, Bibhav Kumar, urgently sought the approval of the draft Excise Policy by the Council of Ministers through circulation.

The CBI’s application revealed that on May 21, 2021, co-accused individuals Butchibabu, Abhishek Boinpally, and Arun R Pillai arrived in Delhi via a chartered flight and met with accused Vijay Nair, approver Dinesh Arora, and some Delhi liquor businessmen at a guest house booked by Bibhav Kumar.

“Further evidence of Kejriwal’s involvement is indicated by the fact that co-accused individuals Butchibabu, Abhishek Boinpally, and Arun R Pillai arrived in Delhi on May 20, 2021, via a chartered flight. They then met with accused Vijay Nair, approver Dinesh Arora, and several Delhi liquor businessmen at the Uttam Galva Company guest house located at Gauri Apartments, near the Claridges hotel in New Delhi, on May 21, 2021,” stated the remand application.

The CBI also alleged that liquor baron Magunta Sreenivasulu Reddy, identified by the Enforcement Directorate as a key member of the ‘South Group’, met Kejriwal on March 16, 2021, at the Delhi Secretariat, seeking support for the liquor business under the upcoming Excise Policy.

Kejriwal allegedly assured support and directed Reddy to contact Bharat Rashtra Samithi leader K Kavitha, another accused. In the same meeting, Kejriwal purportedly asked Reddy to provide monetary funding to AAP.

The investigation disclosed that on March 18, 2021, then Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia summoned his Personal Secretary C Arvind to Kejriwal’s residence. In Kejriwal’s presence, Sisodia gave Arvind a draft of the Group of Ministers (GoM) report to be typed in his office conference room.

This draft, retrieved from the office computer, increased the profit margin for wholesalers from 5 percent to 12 percent, benefiting them significantly.

“The CBI claimed that the GoM’s recommendations were included in the draft of the new excise policy for Delhi for the year 2021-22, which Arvind Kejriwal approved on April 15, 2021, to be presented to the Cabinet for approval.”

The GoM’s recommendations were incorporated into the new excise policy draft for 2021-22, which Kejriwal approved on April 15, 2021, for submission to the Cabinet. Kejriwal will appear before the Rouse Avenue Court at 7 pm on June 29 for further proceedings.