Excise case: Manish Sisodia misused his position, dishonestly introduced changes, CBI tells HC
New Delhi, April 26: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) opposed Manish Sisodia's bail application in the Delhi High Court on Wednesday, claiming that the AAP leader "misused" his official position and dishonestly introduced changes to the Excise Policy under the influence of the South Group, through his close associate Vijay Nair.
Changes introduced by the applicant in the Excise Policy not only facilitated the cartelization of the liquor trade in Delhi by the South Group but also enabled the South Group to recover the kickbacks paid by them upfront, CBI added.
As a part of the said conspiracy, the Applicant increased the wholesale profit margin from 5% to 12% without providing any compelling reason or justification. Additional Solicitor General (ASG) SV Raju also claimed that the petitioner misused his authority by introducing favourable provisions in the new policy.
"This was done to facilitate the monopolization of wholesale and retail liquor trade in Delhi for the accused persons of the South Group for siphoning off 6 per cent out of 12 per cent windfall profit margin for wholesalers provided in the policy in lieu of upfront money/ kickbacks of Rs 90- 100 Crores paid by the South Group. Out of the said amount, INR 30 crores was paid through Hawala channels using Dinesh Arora. Further, cash payments through Hawala channels were made by Vijay Nair, a close associate of the Applicant, to vendors engaged by Aam Admi Party for Goa Assembly Election 2022 through Chariot Media of Rajesh Joshi," he stated.
The CBI also claimed that there is a "deep-rooted conspiracy" at work. It is not as simple as they portray. We filed the chargesheet in the case yesterday, identifying four new accused, including Manish Sisodia, and cognizance on the chargesheet is yet to be taken.
- ANI
