This is a case that has led to remarks being passed in the Parliament, and brought into question a restaurant allegedly run by a top BJP-member's daughter. With the Excise Department, and the Delhi High Court both now stepping in, here's where this issue stands.
When did the news first come to light?
It was in April that Union Cabinet Minister and BJP member Smriti Irani's 18-year-old daughter, Zoish Irani's restaurant, Silly Souls Restaurant in Assagao, North Goa first caught the limelight. Irani shared a positive review that the restaurant received. The review said that Zoish Irani was the owner of the restaurant.
When did it balloon into a controversy?
A local Right to Information activist, AIres Rodriguez, then went digging into the alleged illegal liquor license awarded to the restaurant. He wrote to the Excise Department about alleged irregularities in the allotment of the license. Rodriguez alleges that the documents he received in response to his RTI reveal that the license was issued in the name of a dead person, who was a resident of Mumbai, as per his Aadhar card. Also, he claimed that bar licenses can be awarded only to existing restaurants, and this rule was also violated in this case.
What was the result of this?
The Excise Department then issued a notice to the restaurant, demanding an explanation. It has now begun the hearing process for the complaint. It will decide whether the license was procured by submitting fraudulent documents and if there were irregularities in the procedures. For now, the hearing has been adjourned until August 22, after the Excise Department issued a show-cause notice to the license holder.
Why did Smriti Irani file a defamation case against three Congress leaders?
Once the controversy broke, Congress leaders, including MP Jairam Ramesh, Congress Spokesperson Pawan Khera, and National Secretary of the Mahila Congress, Netta D'Souza shared various social media posts raising objections against the allegedly illegal bar being operated by Irani's daughter. The leaders demanded the removal of Irani from her post.
Smriti Irani, on the other hand, sent legal notices to these three leaders, demanding an unconditional apology, and revocation of their statements. She also filed a Rs 2.5 crore defamation case against the three, in the Delhi High Court which issued summons against the three leaders. The judge ordered them to remove all their social media posts, and said they had maligned the image of an 18-year-old child.
