Sisodia to be questioned in excise case on February 26

The federal agency had earlier asked the deputy CM, who has been named as an accused in the case, to join the investigation on Sunday but he had sought more time citing budget preparations

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has issued fresh summons to Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, asking him to appear before the agency for questioning on February 26 in connection with the probe into the Delhi excise policy case, people familiar with the development said on Monday.

Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia addresses a press conference in New Delhi on Monday. (ANI)

At a press briefing on Monday, Sisodia confirmed that he has been called by the agency for questioning on February 26.

The federal agency had earlier asked the deputy CM, who has been named as an accused in the case, to join the investigation on Sunday but he had sought more time citing Delhi government’s budget preparations.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has linked the CBI summons to the Supreme Court order on the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) mayoral polls.

“BJP got a slap on their face. Immediately after this, on Saturday morning, CBI summoned me to CBI headquarters on Sunday. The summons was issued when I was preparing the Budget. They have lost in the Supreme Court and now they want to exact revenge and harass me. It may be their politics to harass and seek revenge but it should not be done at the cost of stopping the works of Delhi,” Sisodia said on Sunday.

CBI questioned Sisodia for the first time in the case on October 17.

“The deputy CM, being the excise minister of Delhi, took key decisions pertaining to the Delhi excise policy 2021-22, in which several irregularities such as cartelisation, payment of kickbacks, etc, have been found. He needs to be questioned about related aspects and new leads in the case,” said an official, who asked not to be named.

To be sure, Sisodia has not been named in three separate charge sheets filed so far in the case – one by CBI and two by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

ED is carrying out a money laundering investigation into the matter. In its charge sheet filed on January 6, the agency cited Sisodia’s secretary C Arvind’s statement to allege that the decision to fix 12% profit margin for wholesale private entities was conveyed to him at CM Arvind Kejriwal’s residence in mid-March 2021.

The Delhi government’s 2021-22 excise policy aimed to revitalise the city’s flagging liquor business. It wanted to replace a sales-volume-based regime with a licence fee-based one for traders, and promised swankier stores, free of the infamous metal grilles, ultimately giving customers a better buying experience. The policy also introduced discounts and offers on the purchase of liquor, a first for Delhi.

The plan, however, came to an abrupt end, with Delhi’s lieutenant governor VK Saxena recommending a CBI probe into alleged irregularities in the regime. This ultimately resulted in the policy being scrapped prematurely and replaced by the 2020-21 regime, with the AAP alleging that Saxena’s predecessor sabotaged the move with a few last-minute changes resulting in lower-than-expected revenues.