Delhi High Court Grants Bail to Businessman Arun Ramchandra Pillai in Delhi Excise Scam Case

The Delhi High Court has granted bail to Hyderabad-based businessman Arun Ramchandra Pillai in a money laundering case related to the Delhi Excise scam. Pillai, accused of receiving bribes and destroying evidence, was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate, and his bail follows the Supreme Court's earlier decision to grant bail to co-accused K Kavitha.

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday granted bail to Hyderabad-based businessman Arun Ramchandra Pillai in a money laundering case arising from the alleged Delhi Excise scam. The ruling was delivered by Justice Neena Bansal Krishna.

Pillai, a resident of Hyderabad and said to be a close associate of another accused, K Kavitha, was apprehended by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in March 2023. In a recent development, the Supreme Court granted bail to Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader Kavitha. Pillai's defense was handled by Advocate Nitesh Rana and Advocate Deepak Nagar.

Accused of taking bribes from Sameer Mahendru, Managing Director of Indospirit, and distributing them among other accused, Pillai was also implicated in making false statements under Section 50 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) during the investigation. The ED's chargesheet alleged that Pillai destroyed or replaced five mobile phones over two years and failed to produce the devices used during the scam. Chats involving Pillai, found on other people’s phones, were conspicuously absent from his own, indicating possible evidence tampering according to the ED.

The excise scam pertains to an investigation initiated by the ED and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into alleged corruption tied to the scrapped Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22. This policy was dismantled in 2022 following a CBI probe ordered by the Delhi Lieutenant Governor. The ED and CBI alleged irregularities in the policy’s amendments, including unjust favours to licence holders, the waiver or reduction of licence fees, and the unauthorized extension of the L-1 licence. The misallocated gains were reportedly diverted to officials and manipulated in financial records to avoid detection.

Specifically, the Excise Department purportedly chose to refund an earnest money deposit of approximately Rs 30 crore to a successful bidder in violation of existing rules. Additionally, a waiver on tendered licence fees was given from December 28, 2021, to January 27, 2022, a period heavily impacted by COVID-19, causing an alleged loss of Rs 144.36 crore to the exchequer.