Delhi Court Summons CM Arvind Kejriwal on March 16 Following ED Action in Excise Policy Case

The Delhi Rouse Avenue Court has issued a fresh summons to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, demanding his physical appearance on March 16. This summons follows a new complaint filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), seeking prosecution of the AAP leader for repeatedly skipping summonses related to a money laundering case connected to the now-defunct Delhi excise policy.

The latest complaint focuses on Kejriwal’s failure to comply with summonses numbered 4 to 8 issued by the federal probe agency under Section 50 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The court of Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) Divya Malhotra has scheduled a hearing for Thursday.

In response, Arvind Kejriwal took to X to criticize Prime Minister Narendra Modi, alleging that opposition leaders were being coerced into joining the BJP through harassment by the ED. Kejriwal claimed that the notices would cease if he joined the BJP. The ED had previously sought Kejriwal’s prosecution for disregarding the first three summonses issued to him in the money laundering case linked to the defunct Delhi excise policy. ACMM Malhotra’s court has set a hearing for this matter regarding summonses 1 to 3 on March 16.

Kejriwal, 55, has denounced all ED summonses as “illegal.” He had informed the agency previously that he could be questioned via video conferencing after March 12. “We have not committed any wrongdoing nor are we attempting to conceal anything,” he stated at a press conference on March 4, the day he was summoned for the eighth time by the ED.

Also read: Another Comeback Ahead Of Lok Sabha Elections! Naveen Patnaik’s BJD Giving Clue Of Joining BJP Again After 15 years

The ED has filed the fresh complaint under Section 174 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) regarding non-attendance in obedience to a public servant’s order, read with Section 63(4) of the PMLA, which addresses intentional disobedience of directions. Additionally, Sections 190(1)(a) and 200 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) are invoked for non-attendance in compliance with Section 50 of the PMLA.

Similar legal action was taken against former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren by the ED. A Ranchi court found Soren prima facie guilty of disregarding notices from the agency and ordered him to appear on April 3.

Kejriwal’s name has appeared multiple times in charge sheets filed by the ED in the excise policy case. The agency alleges that the accused were in communication with Kejriwal regarding the preparation of the excise policy for 2021-22.

To date, the ED has arrested AAP leaders Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh, party communications in-charge Vijay Nair, and several liquor businessmen in connection with this case. The ED’s charge sheet claims that the AAP utilized “proceeds of crime” amounting to about ₹45 crore in its Goa assembly polls campaign.