New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Monday pulled up the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government over delay in placing the Comptroller Auditor General's (CAG) report on the alleged liquor excise policy scam before the assembly speaker. A single-judge bench of Justice Sachin Datta said that the Delhi government is "dragging its feet" from calling the assembly session and presenting the report.
"The way you have dragged your feet raises doubts about your bona fides. You should have promptly forwarded the reports to the Speaker and initiated a discussion in the House.," the court said. The single-judge bench made these remarks while hearing a petition which sought the implementation of the CAG report.
What CAG Report Highlighted?
Notably, the report on the AAP government's now scrapped, liquor excise policy in Delhi pointed out several “lapses". The CAG report claimed that Rs 2,026 crore loss was incurred to the exchequer. The report was released days ahead of the Delhi Assembly Elections 2025. The report alleged that AAP leaders got "kickbacks". It is a draft CAG report as it is yet to be tabled in the Delhi Assembly.
The CAG report also claimed that licence norms were flouted. Notably, the then deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia was heading the excise department when the policy liquor excise policy was introduced in Delhi. The report highlighted that Sisodia ignored recommendations by the expert panel over the policy.
AAP bigwigs including former Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh, former Delhi deputy CM Manish Sisodia and former Delhi minister Satyendra Jain were arrested in connection with the alleged liquor excise policy scam.
