A fresh turn of events unfolded as a Delhi court summoned Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to appear before it on March 16. This directive came in response to a new complaint filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), seeking Kejriwal’s trial for evading summons related to the money laundering case linked to the now-scrapped 2021-22 Delhi excise policy.
Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Divya Malhotra took note of the complaint and directed Kejriwal to physically attend the court proceedings. This summons adds to Kejriwal’s previous obligation to appear on March 16, stemming from a separate ED complaint filed earlier on February 3.
During the hearing, the ED contended that Kejriwal had no legal entitlement to demand clarification regarding his status as a witness or a suspect. “It is a wilful and intentional disobedience to the summons, making out an offence under Section 174 of the IPC…the grounds raised by him for not complying with the summons are frivolous and vexatious,” argued Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, representing the ED.
Raju pointed out Kejriwal’s repeated failure to respond to ED summonses, which impeded the investigation into the case. The court had previously directed Kejriwal to appear physically on February 7, citing his legal obligation to comply with the ED summons. Despite this, Kejriwal had skipped five summon since November 2.
On February 17, Kejriwal appeared virtually before the court, citing his inability to attend physically due to the ongoing budget session. However, he subsequently missed three more summonses. In a recent development, Kejriwal expressed willingness to answer the ED’s queries via video conferencing after March 12.
The ED’s initial complaint accused Kejriwal of deliberately ignoring summonses and raising baseless objections. The agency underscored Kejriwal’s involvement in the excise policy and the necessity to trace the alleged proceeds of the crime. Notably, Aam Aadmi Party leaders Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh have faced arrest in connection with the case. While Kejriwal has been mentioned in the ED charge sheets, he has not been formally named as an accused.
