Delhi excise policy scam | Kejriwal to Satyendar Jain: Key arrests made so far

It claimed that political leaders, including Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, K Kavitha, and others, hatched a conspiracy in the excise policy. The ED alleged that the 'South Group' made up of Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy, Sarath Reddy, and K Kavitha were allotted 9 zones out of 32 in Delhi under the policy. The profit margin for wholesalers was 12 percent and 185 percent for retailers, and that 6 percent was supposed to be collected back from the wholesalers by the AAP leaders.

Here are the prominent arrests in the Delhi liquor excise policy case so far:

Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi Chief Minister and AAP chief

On March 18, after BRS MLC K Kavitha’s arrest, the Enforcement Directorate, for the first time, mentioned CM Arvind Kejriwal’s name as a 'conspirator' in the Delhi excise scam case.

The ED told the media that their investigation revealed that K Kavitha and others conspired with AAP's top leaders, including Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia, to obtain favours in the formulation and implementation of the Delhi excise policy. In exchange for these favours, she allegedly paid ₹100 crore to the leaders of AAP, the ED said, according to reports.

According to the ED, through “acts of corruption and conspiracy”, the Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22, ensured "a continuous stream of illegal funds in the form of kickbacks from the wholesalers" for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

Earlier too, the ED had alleged Kejriwal had talked to one of the main accused, Sameer Mahendru, who’s currently in jail in the same case, over a video call and asked him to continue working with co-accused Vijay Nair whom he referred to as “his boy”. This conversation established the Delhi CM's involvement in the scam, the ED alleged.

On March 21, the ED arrested Kejriwal.

Kejriwal’s lawyer has argued that ED was “attempting, at this stage, to create a non-level playing field”. Meanwhile, the ED may seek 10-day custody of Kejriwal from the court to examine his personal role and that of his party's alleged irregularities as alleged by the agency.

Bharat Rashtra Samiti leader K Kavitha

A few days earlier, after much speculation, Bharat Rashtra Samithi MLC Kavitha was arrested by the ED in connection with the Delhi excise policy scam on March 15. Even as her interrogation is on in custody, the BRS leader found no relief knocking at Supreme Court’s door. The apex court turned down her plea and asked her to approach a trial court for bail.

A member of the Telangana Legislative Council and daughter of former state chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao was arrested after the ED and the Income Tax department raided her residence in Hyderabad. The allegation against her is that she was part of the “South Group” and allegedly gave AAP leaders a bribe of ₹100 crore. These payments were purportedly paid under the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy in return for illegal benefits.

Other alleged members of this South group include Ongole MP Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy’s son Raghav Magunta, P Sarath Chandra Reddy, son of P V Ramprasad Reddy and co-founder of Hyderabad-based Aurobindo Pharma. According to the ED, this group allegedly secured uninhibited access, undue favours, attained stakes in established wholesale businesses and multiple retail zones (over and above what was allowed in the policy), said media reports.

The ED complaint states that to “recover kickbacks given by the South Group", the partners of the South Group were given a “65% stake in M/s Indospirit” in collusion with its owner Sameer Mahendru, also an accused in this case.

Kavitha has denied the allegations, and described the ED notices to her as “Modi notices”. She has termed it as "sweeping allegations" against her and said that the burden of proof has been put on her.

AAP leader Manish Sisodia

The then Delhi deputy CM Manish Sisodia was arrested in February 2023, after he was questioned by the probe agency for over eight hours. Sisodia resigned from the post soon after. His bail pleas since then have been repeatedly turned down by the courts as CBI has argued that he is an influential person and may hamper the investigation.

A former journalist and RTI activist, Sisodia is one of the founders of the AAP and is an elected member of the Delhi legislative assembly. He is considered to be the architect of the AAP initiative of overhauling the education system in Delhi government schools.

The CBI as well as the ED have alleged that irregularities were committed while modifying the Delhi Excise Policy 2020-21 and Sisodia allegedly tweaked the policy to give undue favours to licence holders. For example, licence fee was waived or reduced and licences were extended without the competent authority's approval.

Sanjay Singh

AAP leader Sanjay Singh, who is lodged in Tihar jail, is accused by the central agency of being a "key conspirator" in the irregularities in the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy and of receiving bribes from the alleged scam. He served as a bridge between AAP leaders and restaurant owners and helped the party raise funds, said the central agency.

On March 19, 2024, he was sworn in as member of the Rajya Sabha for a second term after a Delhi Court permitted him to visit Parliament. He was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on October 2023 in a money laundering case linked to the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy. At that time, Singh was the third major leader from the AAP to be picked up — the others being former industries minister Satyendar Jain and Manish Sisodia.

Singh has been with AAP since the creation of the party in November 2012, and he is a member of its foremost decision-making body, the Politician Affairs Committee (PAC). A trusted lieutenant of the Aam Aadmi Party, he was known for his conflict resolution capabilities.

According to the ED chargesheet, businessman Dinesh Arora, who is an accused in the liquor policy case met Delhi CM Kejriwal in the presence of Sanjay Singh.

The agency also alleges that Sanjay Singh resolved Dinesh Arora’s longstanding issue with the liquor department. Recently, however, a list was released showing the poorest members of the Rajya Sabha, and AAP's Sanjay Singh was among them.

Satyendar Jain

AAP leader and former minister Satyendar Jain was the first person to be arrested by the ED in May 2022 in the Delhi excise policy scam. In May last year, Jain was given interim bail on medical grounds following a year-long imprisonment in Tihar jail. Jain has been out on bail on health grounds but on March 18, 2024, the Supreme Court has asked him surrender forthwith.

Other arrests in the case:

Member of South Group, now turned witness, Raghav Magunta; son of former MLA from Akali Dal Gautam Malhotra; owner of Vaddi Retail Amit Arora; promoter of Arvindo Group, turned witness, P Sharad Reddy; member of South Group, Abhishek Bonpalli; Buchibabu Gorantla; regional head of Record India, Binoy Babu; director of Chauriyet Productions, Rajesh Joshi are several others arrested in the case.

Other prominent individuals detained in this investigation include restaurateur Dinesh Arora, who was charged by the CBI in 2022, and Sameer Mahendru, the managing director of M/s Indospirit Group, who had been charged by the ED in September of the same year.