Arvind Kejriwal arrested: What we know about liquor policy case and charges against Delhi CM

Kejriwal is the fourth high-profile politician to be arrested in the case after former deputy CM Manish Sisodia, AAP MP Sanjay Singh and BRS leader K Kavitha.

New Delhi: Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday evening in connection with the Delhi Excise liquor probe. Kejriwal’s arrest comes in the backdrop of the agency establishing that a certain group of businessmen and politicians from the South benefitted from the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy 2021-22 instead of Rs.100 crore bribes paid to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday evening (File Photo)

Kejriwal is the fourth high-profile politician to be arrested in the case after former deputy CM Manish Sisodia, member of parliament Sanjay Singh and BRS leader K Kavitha.

The conspiracy

The ED has claimed that a conspiracy was hatched by political leaders, including Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and K Kavitha (arrested last week) among others, in the Delhi excise policy. A South Group comprising businessman Sarath Reddy, Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy and K Kavitha got nine zones out of 32 in Delhi under the new excise policy 2021-22. The policy was brought out with an extraordinarily high 12 per cent profit margin for wholesalers and almost 185 per cent profit margin for retailers. As per the conspiracy, six per cent out of the 12 per cent margin was to be collected back from the wholesalers as kickback to the leaders of AAP, ED has alleged.

“Kavitha orchestrated a deal with CM, Delhi – Arvind Kejriwal and then deputy CM and the excise minister - Manish Sisodia, wherein she, along with other members of the South Group, paid them kickbacks through a string of intermediaries and middlemen. In exchange for kickbacks paid to the leaders of AAP, Kavitha had access to the policy formulation and was offered provisions to ensure a favorable position to her,” ED said in its remand note last week after arresting Kavitha.

Key person

ED has alleged that the Rs.100 crore kickback was paid in advance to Vijay Nair (AAP’s then communications in-charge), who was managing this scheme and conspiracy on behalf of the leaders of the AAP.

The agency said in one of the court documents last year that - “Vijay Nair is not an ordinary worker of the AAP but a close associate of Arvind Kejriwal, the CM of Delhi…”.

Citing businessman Sameer Mahendru’s statement, ED has said the excise policy was the “brainchild” of Kejriwal. It has been said that when to verify Nair’s clout in the Delhi government, Mahendru asked him to meet Kejriwal, a FaceTime call with the CM was arranged by Nair. Kejriwal told Mahendru during this video call that Vijay is his boy and that he should trust him, ED has claimed.

Sisodia’s former secretary spilled beans

ED, citing a December 7, 2022 statement recorded by former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia’s then secretary C Arvind, has claimed he was informed of the decision to carve a 12 per cent profit margin for wholesale private entities in the excise policy at Kejriwal’s residence in March 2021. There were no discussions about handing the wholesale liquor business to private players in meetings held by the group of ministers (GoM) – which comprised Sisodia, Satyendar Jain and Kailash Gahlot — before mid-March 2021, C Arvind told ED.

However, “in mid-March, 2021, C Arvind was called by Sisodia to Kejriwal’s residence (where former health minister of Delhi Satyendar Jain was also present) and Sisodia handed over a document to C Arvind, which was a draft GoM report proposing that the wholesale (business) should go to private entities and asked him to prepare the draft GoM report based on the said document. He said that it was the first time he saw this proposal as the same was never discussed in any GoM meetings”, the agency stated.

Rs.45 crore bribe for Goa assembly elections

In its sixth charge sheet filed in December 2023 against AAP leader Sanjay Singh, ED claimed that kickbacks worth Rs.45 crore generated in Delhi excise policy were used by AAP in the Goa assembly elections campaign in 2022, making it a beneficiary of the proceeds of crime.

“The AAP has benefited directly by using part of PoC (proceeds of crime) to the tune of ₹45 crore approximately in its election campaign in Goa,” it said.

Besides the party, the charge sheet also stated that “some of the AAP leaders also personally benefitted from the proceeds of crime.” ED has established that Sisodia got Rs.2.2 crore bribe, while Sanjay Singh got Rs.2 crore, and Nair got Rs.1.5 crore.

However, the ED or the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) have not yet directly linked any proceeds of crime to Kejriwal.

Probe so far:

The financial crimes probe agency has so far filed six charge sheets in the excise policy probe against 31 individuals and entities, including former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia and AAP parliamentarian Sanjay Singh. Both Sisodia and Singh are currently lodged in Tihar jail. Kejriwal is the 32nd accused to be arrested in the case.

To date, the ED has conducted searches on 245 locations across the country, including Delhi, Hyderabad, Chennai, Mumbai and other places. It has also attached assets worth ₹128.79 crore under PMLA in the case.

The agency has also pegged the loss in the excise policy irregularities at ₹2,873 crore.

Nine summons:

Before arresting Kejriwal on Thursday, the ED had issued nine summons to the Delhi CM on November 2, December 22, January 3, January 18, February 2, February 19, February 27, March 4 and March 21, which he termed as “illegal and politically motivated”. He tried to get relief from the courts but was not granted any.

ED has never officially said if he was being summoned as a witness or a suspect, but its court documents have suggested that he was being probed for conspiracy as an accused.