Delhi Liquor Case: CBI quizzes Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia, a timeline of the alleged scam

Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia is being questioned by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) over the alleged Delhi liquor policy scam. Sisodia was summoned on Sunday in connection with the alleged corruption in the policy-making and implementation of the new excise policy for the national capital. 

Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) most ambitious Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22 was scrapped on July 31, 2022, since then many senior AAP leaders and their close associates are under the heat of the Enforcement Directorate and the CBI. 

The Delhi government decided to bring back the 'old excise regime' after scrapping the new policy that was in force before November 17, 2020. 

Here is a timeline of how the controversy around the case unfolded after Delhi's Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena recommended a CBI probe into the irregularities in Delhi's excise policy:

July 22, 2022: L-G VK Saxena recommended a CBI probe into the Delhi liquor policy case. The order came after the Chief Secretary of Delhi said in a report that gross violations and undue benefits had been provided to liquor licensees. The L-G also directed the Delhi chief secretary to conduct an investigation into the role of excise department officials in the case. 

Chief Secretary's report of Delhi dated July 8, 2022, prima facie established violations of Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment), Act 1991, Transaction of Business Rules (ToBR) 1993, Delhi Excise Act 2009 and Delhi Excise Rules 2010. It also mentioned deliberate violations and gross procedural lapses to provide post-tender undue benefits to liquor licensees for the year 2021-22.

The report was sent to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia and it stated “indicate substantively of financial quid pro quo at the top political level". It mentioned that the deputy chief minister took major decisions/actions “in violation of the statutory provisions and the notified Excise Policy that had huge financial implications.”

This resulted in a feud between AAP and the BJP. BJP blamed the ruling party for causing heavy excise losses. AAP denied the allegations and has accused the BJP of vendetta politics.

July 28, 2022-- Manish Sisodia,  asked the department to revert to the old policies till a fresh policy was formed. 

August 17, 2022-- CBI files a case against Sisodia, the then excise department officials and businessmen for cheating, and bribery in the new excise policy (2021-22), which was later shelved.

August 19, 2022-- Manish Sisodia's residence was raided by CBI raided along with three other members of AAP. Many locations in Delhi-NCR were also searched.

August 22, 2022-- ED seeks details of the case from the CBI and files a money laundering case in the excise policy.

August 30, 2022-- Five CBI officials reached the PNB branch at Sector 4 Vasundhara in Ghaziabad and searched the bank lockers of Manish Sisodia. Sisodia claimed CBI found nothing in his lockers and was given a clean chit by the probe agency.

September 6 and 16, 2022-- ED carried out raids at 35 locations across the country, including private individuals, their premises and entities. 

September 19, 2022-- AAP MLA Durgesh Pathak was summoned by ED and questioned for 10 hours in the case. 

September 27, 2022-- CBI made the first big arrest of AAP communication in-charge Vijay Nair. 

September 28, 2022-- A liquor trader, Sameet Mahendru was arrested by the ED. He was among the accused in the alleged Delhi liquor scam. 

October 7, 2022-- ED searches 35 locations in Delhi-NCR, Telangana and Punjab. And also seized Rs 1 crore from an individual's place, a beneficiary of the excise policy.

October 10, 2022-- CBI arrested Abhishek Boinpally who was allegedly lobbying for certain liquor businessmen based in Southern India.

October 17, 2022-- Manish Sisodia was questioned for nine hours in the Delhi excise policy case by CBI. Soon after his questioning ended, he claimed that he was pressured to quit the Arvind Kejriwal-led party and join the BJP.

November 25, 2022-- CBI filed its first chargesheet in the Delhi excise case which did not include Manish Sisodia as an accused. The chargesheet included seven names including Vijay Nair and Abhishek Boinpally as accused.

November 30, 2022-- ED arrests Amit Arora, a close aide of Manish Sisodia. Arora is the director of Gurugram-based Buddy Retail.

November 30, 2022-- ED named LC Kalvakuntla Kavitha, daughter of Telangana CM K Chandrashekar Rao in the scam. Claiming that the key accused, Vijay Nair, received kickbacks worth at least Rs 100 crore from what it called the ‘South Group’ 'controlled by Sarath Reddy, K Kavitha and Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy'.

December 11, 2022-- CBI questions K Kavitha, at her residence in Banjara Hills, Hyderabad.

February 2, 2023-- the ED in its chargesheet claimed that Delhi CM Kejriwal asked Sameer Mahendru to trust Vijay Nair over a video call. 

February 9, 2023-- ED arrests Rajesh Joshi of Chariot Advertising. The money was allegedly used by AAP in its Goa election campaign.

February 18, 2023-- CBI summoned Manish Sisodia again. However, Sisodia asked the CBI to defer the questioning citing budget preparation reasons. The agency issued a fresh summons and called him for questioning on Feb 26.

February 26, 2023-- Delhi Deputy Manish Sisodia begins questioning at the CBI Headquarters. Section 144 is imposed around CBI HQ to prevent protesters.