Documents acquired via a Right to Information request reveal that the senior minister’s spouse and their children manage the firm that received a food licence from the state Directorate of Food and Drugs Administration. Smriti Irani, a leader in the opposition party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), is suing members of the opposition party, the Congress Party, for libel for their comments on the restaurant and bar Silly Souls, which is situated in Irani’s private residence in Assagao, Goa.
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In a sworn affidavit presented to the Dehi high court last month, Irani and her daughter denied any connection to the Silly Souls Cafe and Bar at House 452, Bouta Waddo, Assagao, Goa.
The Union minister for women and children’s development has been defending herself against criticism since since the excise commissioner of Goa filed notice in July claiming that Silly Souls Cafe and Bar’s liquor licence had been renewed fraudulently. There was media coverage of the minister’s social media posts and an interview with Irani’s daughter Zoish, but Irani told the judge that her family does not own the restaurant.
According to a Right to Information (RTI) response from the Goa government to advocate Aires Rodrigues, who had previously obtained the information that the bar’s excise licence had been illegally renewed, 75% of the company that issued the excise licence to Silly Souls is owned by Smriti Irani’s husband and family.
After an online application and related judgments from the company’s board of directors, an on-site inspection was conducted on June 26, 2021, and the results were positive.
On July 23, 2021, Eightall Food and Beverage was issued licence number 10621001000195 by the Goan government’s FDA directorate in compliance with the FSS Act.
