Delhi High Court Reserves Bail Order in High-Profile Excise Policy Case

The Delhi High Court has reserved its decision on the bail plea of Hyderabad businessman Arun Ramchandra Pillai in connection with the Delhi Excise policy case. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court granted bail to BRS leader K Kavitha, linked to the same case. Pillai faces multiple allegations, including corruption and evidence destruction.

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday reserved an order on the bail plea of Hyderabad-based businessman Arun Ramchandra Pillai amid the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) ongoing investigation into the Delhi Excise policy case. Justice Neena Bansal Krishna's bench reserved its order following the completion of arguments from both sides. Pillai, currently under judicial custody, was arrested for his alleged involvement in the case and represented by Advocates Nitesh Rana and Deepak Nagar.

In a related development, the Supreme Court granted bail to Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader Kalvakuntla Kavitha on the same day. This decision addresses cases filed by the ED and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) concerning alleged corruption involving the now-abandoned Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22. Pillai, who was arrested by the ED in March 2023, is accused of collecting bribes from Sameer Mahendru, Managing Director of Indospirit, and distributing them to other accused individuals.

The ED's chargesheet alleges that Pillai provided false statements under Section 50 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and destroyed five mobile phones over two years to hide evidence. Additionally, pertinent chats involving Pillai, found on other individuals' phones, were missing from his devices, raising suspicions of deliberate evidence tampering. The ED argues that Pillai's retraction of his statements was a legal tactic intended to disrupt the investigation.

The ED and CBI have alleged that the modifications to the Excise Policy were marked by irregularities, undue favours to licence holders, reduced or waived licence fees, and unauthorized extensions of the L-1 licence. These irregularities purportedly allowed the beneficiaries to illicitly divert money to accused officials while falsifying their books of account to avoid detection.

Specifically, the Excise Department reportedly returned an earnest money deposit of approximately Rs 30 crore to a successful tenderer against established rules. Moreover, a waiver on tendered licence fees was permitted from December 28, 2021, to January 27, 2022, ostensibly due to COVID-19, causing an alleged loss of Rs 144.36 crore to the exchequer. This case was initiated following a Union Home Ministry reference, based on a recommendation from Delhi Lieutenant-Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena.