CBI Failure on Delhi Liquor Scam is Humungous !!!! :::: Kavita gets vital booster as she is set to float a new party in Telangana

Moral of the Lesson:

Keep eye on the feet and the ball.... and not on the guy in 10 No. jersey or his hair style !!

Under the Delhi Liquor policy as prepared by the Kejriwal regime; in a departure from norms in most states, the city government no longer had anything to do with selling liquor and allowed only private shops to do so. 

The central aim was claimed to be to stop black marketing, increase revenue and improve the consumer experience.

It also allowed the home delivery of liquor and shops to stay open till 3 am. 

Licensees could also offer unlimited discounts. The Delhi government then reported a substantial 27 per cent increase in income from the policy, generating around Rs 8,900 crore.

Delhi incurred losses of over Rs 2,000 crore due to flaws in the 2021-22 liquor policy by previous Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government, according to a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report tabled in the Delhi Assembly in Feb 2025.

 

The report also highlighted serious policy lapses, procedural violations, and ignored expert recommendations. It pointed out that then Deputy Chief Minister and Excise Minister Manish Sisodia "disregarded key suggestions" from an expert panel while formulating the now-scrapped liquor policy. 

Yet the high-profile case vis-a-vis the corruption associated with it collapsed and could not pass through the judicial scrutiny at the level of the lower court. 

Thus the High Court battle sooner than later could determine the future trajectory of the case. The argument may easily go --- in general sense the ED and CBI seem to mirror each other in their failures, creating immediate political and media impact.  

The CBI, by contrast, boasts conviction rates of 65–75 per cent in Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA) cases, seemingly a prosecutorial powerhouse. 

Yet dig deeper and the sheen fades—most of these “wins” appear to be low-level trap cases, while in complex, high-profile scandals like the 2G spectrum allocation, coal block allocations, Commonwealth Games contracts, and the Delhi liquor policy probe, the probe agency has repeatedly failed to secure convictions.

Both agencies suffer from the same underlying credibility deficit: their most publicised cases too often collapse in court, leaving the statistics to tell a misleadingly flattering story. 

The CAG report on Delhi Liquor policy had estimated a revenue loss of Rs 941.53 crore, citing failure to obtain timely permissions for opening liquor vends in non-conforming municipal wards -- areas not designated for liquor sales under zoning laws. This led to a significant financial impact on the Delhi government’s earnings. 

Hence, it may be a safe conclusion - the CBI failure in this case is humungous.   

K Kavita, daughter of former Telangana CM, gets vital booster as she is set to float a new party in Telangana 

K Kavitha to float new party in May, eyes contest in Harish Rao’s stronghold Siddipet

Siddipet has long been a stronghold of her cousin, former Minister and senior BRS leader T Harish Rao, and Kavitha’s signal that she may contest from there is a direct political challenge.

Violations pointed out in CAG report were 'serious' :::  

The report stated that the Delhi Master Plan 2021 prohibited liquor vends in non-conforming areas, yet the Excise Policy 2021-22 mandated setting up at least two retail vends in each ward.

 

Despite tender documents clearly stating that liquor stores should not be set up in such areas, licences were still issued before addressing zoning concerns. 

On Nov 16, 2021, the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) disallowed vends in non-conforming zones, forcing licencees to approach the High Court, which later exempted them from paying Rs 114.50 crore per month in licence fees, resulting in further financial losses.  

AAP version on Amit Shah and Delhi politics --

In May 2022, Home Minister Shah had replaced Anil Baijal as Delhi’s Lt. Governor with his trusted man V K Saxena. 

Tenures of both Baijal and Saxena were mareed by constant conflict with Arvind Kejriwal and AAP Govt. 

Saxena was seen as man with a better equation with Shah. 

Saxena allegedly opposed every decision taken by the AAP regime.

State BJP leaders made it a point to amplify the L-G’s diatribe against the elected government on every available issue.

Additional info :

Background Notes ::: Citing a report from Delhi's top bureaucrat which accused Manish Sisodia of bending rules and providing undue benefits to liquor vend licensees, Lt Governor V K Saxena asked for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe.

Not long after, Manish Sisodia said the policy was going to be cancelled because the BJP was using the investigating agencies it controls to intimidate vendors. 

He also blamed Saxena's predecessor Anil Baijal for a "last-minute change" that crippled the reforms.

Until his arrest, Sisodia had not been named in the chargesheet.

In 2022 the CBI raided 31 locations, including Manish Sisodia's home. 

The probe agency could not find anything incriminating, the minister had claimed. 

Separately, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) also launched a probe into the Delhi liquor scam, alleging money laundering, and claimed a liquor lobby dubbed the "South Group" paid at least Rs 100 crore in kickbacks to AAP for its Goa election campaign.

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