Liquor scam: MHA suspends IAS officer who approved Excise Policy, cites 'serious lapses'

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), on Monday, suspended IAS officer Gopi Krishna and DANICS officer, Anand Kumar Tiwari who were the Excise Commissioner and Deputy Excise Commissioner in Delhi respectively when the Arvind Kejriwal-led government introduced the now-revoked Excise Policy that was implemented in November last year. 

According to ANI, the suspension comes a few days after Delhi's Lieutenant Governor (L-G), VK Saxena approved the initiation of disciplinary proceedings for “serious lapses” against 11 officers of the Excise department in relation to the Excise Policy. 

Their suspension by the Home Ministry also follows the release of a vigilance report which revealed on Saturday that the new policy did not have the approval of Delhi's Lieutenant Governor. Under the new policy, the Delhi government backed out of liquor sales and handed over the business entirely to private vendors, citing their intent of eliminating the liquor mafia and generating higher revenue.

What does the vigilance report say?

The vigilance report labelled the policy 'void ab initio (sans legal effect from the beginning)' since the Lieutenant Governor did not give his consent. It also revealed that Manish Sisodia, Delhi's Deputy CM and in-charge of the Excise Department, made decisions such as decreasing license fees from Rs 250 crore to Rs 150 crore without consulting with L-G Saxena.

Besides, the number of 'dry days' in the national capital was also reduced from 21 to just 3 - Independence Day, Republic Day and Gandhi Jayanti, without Saxena's approval. 

Notably, the L-G earlier this year recommended a CBI probe into the Excise Policy and an FIR was registered against Sisodia. The Deputy CM is now being probed in the alleged liquor scam, which has led to raids by CBI at Sisodia's residence. As many as 31 locations in cities including Delhi, Gurugram, Chandigarh, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Lucknow, and Bengaluru have been raided as a part of the probe.

Notably, the agencies have recovered several documents and digital records, and have named 14 others apart from Sisodia, in the FIR registered on August 17 under several sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).