The Alleged Delhi excise scam: Details and Revenue comparison

Last Updated: 22 March 2024

New Excise policy was implemented on 17 November 2021 and CBI probe ordered on 21 July 2022
-- First scam in India where Govt revenue increased :)

BJP "rattled by the stoppage of its Rs 3,500 crore earning through commission" - Manish Sisodia in Delhi Assembly 04 Jan 2022[1]

2 Witnesses against AAP leaders donated 55 crores Money to BJP & joined BJP+ coalition for elections respectively

At least 5 key witnesses retracted, informed in front of the court that they had been coerced/tortured into giving false testimony[2]

Insights from revenue data[3]

First scam in India where Govt revenue increased :)

All below Data points are as per Delhi assembly official record. Reference Link to Delhi Assembly site[3:1]

Policy Type Period Govt Revenue
(in crores)		 Num of Shops
Old policy 17 Nov 2018 - 31 Aug 2019 5342 864
Old policy 17 Nov 2019 - 31 Aug 2020 4722 864
Old policy 17 Nov 2020 - 31 Aug 2021 4890[4] 864
New policy 17 Nov 2021 - 31 Aug 2022 5576[4:1] only 468*
(out of 849)

* as of Jul 2022 due to interference & intimidation[5]

Delhi Excise policy etc explained

All details covered separately here

  1. Delhi Liquor Policy explained What is the Policy & its objectives
  2. Excise Policy: Factcheck & comparison with other states
  3. Manish Sisodia A Political Prisoner Fighting Vendetta Politics

Witnessses donate money/joined BJP

1. 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐚 𝐑𝐞𝐝𝐝𝐲[6]

  • 10 Nov 2022 - Arrested by ED in Delhi Excise Policy Case
  • 15 Nov 2022 - BJP gets 5 crore Donation from his company
  • 9 May 2023: Granted him bail as ED did not oppose bail
  • 2 June 2023: Sarath Reddy turned Government witness/approver in the case
  • 8 Nov 2023: Donated another Rs 25 crore to the BJP via Aurobindo Pharma
  • 8 Nov 2023: Donated another Rs 25 crore to the BJP via other related firms[7]

2. 𝐌𝐚𝐠𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐚 𝐑𝐚𝐠𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐚 𝐑𝐞𝐝𝐝𝐲

  • 11 Feb 2023 - ED said Manguta Raghava Reddy is main accused[8]
  • July 2023 - Gets Bail[8:1]
  • 8 Sep 2023 - Manguta Raghava Reddy turns Government witness/approver[9]
  • 16 Mar 2024 - Joined TDP(BJP+) and likely to be NDA candidate from Andhra Pradesh[10]

Torture of witnesses & Fabrication of evidence by ED and CBI

ED/CBI caught fabricating evidence

  • At least 5 key witnesses retracted, informed in front of the court that they had been coerced/tortured into giving false testimony[2:1]

  • Hearing loss to Mr Chanda, who is one of the witnesses, during torture by ED in excise scam Case; backed by a medical report[11]

  • Mr Chandan retracted all statements, admissions, or signatures obtained by the ED[11:1]

Fake Allegations and Real truth

Busted Allegation 1[12]:

  • Initial ED Claim : 100 crore of kickbacks received by AAP which were used in Goa 2022 elections
  • After 3 month investigation : 3 months and hundreds of raids later ED confessed in court that AAP had spent only Rs. 19 lakh in cash in Goa elections
  • Supreme Court Sisodia Bail Judgement[13][14]: "Prima facie, there is lack of clarity, as specific allegation on the involvement of the appellant – Manish Sisodia, direct or indirect, in the transfer of Rs. 45,00,00,000 to AAP for the Goa elections is missing."- Para 15

This is seen by AAP as certificate of honesty by ED

Busted Allegation 2[15]:

  • ED Claim in Court : Rajesh Joshi was involved in the transfer of amount of around Rs 20­-30 crore for AAP 2022 Goa election campaign
  • Delhi Court rejected, says 'Not Genuine': Delhi court said there was nothing on record at this stage to link these payments
  • Supreme Court Sisodia Bail Judgement[13:1][14:1]: "Prima facie, there is lack of clarity, as specific allegation on the involvement of the appellant – Manish Sisodia, direct or indirect, in the transfer of Rs. 45,00,00,000 to AAP for the Goa elections is missing."- Para 15

Busted Allegation 3[15:1]:

  • ED Claim in Court : Gautam Malhotra had paid Rs 2.5 crore as bribe for the ‘South liquor lobby’
  • Delhi Court rejected, says 'Not Genuine': Delhi court said that the case of the prosecution as based on oral and documentary evidence “cannot be prima facie considered to be a genuine case”
  • Supreme Court Sisodia Bail Judgement[13:2][14:2]: SC refuses to accept ED's allegation that Rs 2.20 crore was paid as bribe to Manish Sisodia by Amit Arora

Busted Allegation 4[16]:

  • Initial ED Claim : Sisodia destroyed 14 mobile phones, allegedly to destroy evidence
  • Now: 5 of those phones were in ED/CBI custody as per the IMEI numbers & their own seizure report and most others were found to be functioning

Busted Allegation 5[17]:

  • Initial ED Claim : Sanjay Singh was named in ED chargesheet
  • Sanjay Singh sent Legal Notice to ED officials
  • Now ED back tracks: ED admitted that it had falsely included Sanjay Singh's name in the chargesheet
  • Though harrasment of his close associates continues[18]

SC Sisodia Bail Judgement[13:3][14:3]

Allegation: Under the new excise policy, the profit margins of wholesalers were arbitrarily increased from 5% to 12%[19]

Details here SC Bail Judgement & Legal Experts Opinion [AAP Wiki]

References:

  1. https://www.outlookindia.com/website/story/heated-debate-in-delhi-assembly-over-new-excise-policy-sisodia-says-bjp-rattled/408313 ↩︎

  2. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/videos/news/ed-forcing-witnesses-to-give-wrong-statements-alleges-sanjay-singh/videoshow/99441478.cms?from=mdr ↩︎ ↩︎

  3. http://delhiassembly.nic.in/VidhanSabhaQuestions/20230322/Starred/S-14-22032023.pdf ↩︎ ↩︎

  4. https://theprint.in/india/aap-bjp-spar-in-delhi-assembly-over-excise-revenue-losses/1476792/ ↩︎ ↩︎

  5. https://www.indiatvnews.com/news/india/delhi-liquor-shops-to-be-shut-from-monday-as-govt-withdraws-new-excise-policy-latest-updates-2022-07-30-796153 ↩︎

  6. https://thewire.in/politics/company-of-businessman-who-turned-approver-in-delhi-liquor-policy-case-donated-rs-5-crore-to-bjp-days-after-arrest ↩︎

  7. https://www.thenewsminute.com/telangana/businessman-accused-in-rs-100-crore-delhi-liquor-scam-paid-bjp-rs-55-crore-thru-bonds ↩︎

  8. https://www.deccanchronicle.com/nation/in-other-news/190723/delhi-liquor-scam-raghava-gets-bail.html ↩︎ ↩︎

  9. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/magunta-to-turn-approver-in-delhi-liquor-policy-case/articleshow/103522129.cms ↩︎

  10. https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/andhra-pradesh/2024/Mar/17/ap-magunta-returns-to-tdp-fold-son-is-likely-to-get-ongole-mp-seat ↩︎

  11. https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/probe-agency-accused-of-torture-as-man-claims-hearing-loss-from-beating-3511396 ↩︎ ↩︎

  12. https://twitter.com/AamAadmiParty/status/1655140241429221378 ↩︎

  13. https://main.sci.gov.in/supremecourt/2023/26668/26668_2023_3_1501_47839_Judgement_30-Oct-2023.pdf ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎

  14. https://twitter.com/LiveLawIndia/status/1718976275422023791 ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎

  15. https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/delhi/excise-scam-delhi-court-grants-bail-to-two-accused-8596902/ ↩︎ ↩︎

  16. https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/ed-fabricating-statements-and-misleading-court-says-kejriwal/article66737914.ece ↩︎

  17. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/ed-accepted-sanjay-singhs-name-in-chargesheet-was-by-mistake-aap/articleshow/99972386.cms?from=mdr ↩︎

  18. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/height-of-injustice-aap-mp-sanjay-singh-slams-ed-for-raids-at-residences-of-his-associates/articleshow/100464586.cms?from=mdr ↩︎

  19. https://www.livemint.com/news/india/delhi-excise-policy-scam-sc-rejects-review-petition-filed-by-manish-sisodia-seeking-bail-11702567989050.html ↩︎