THE JHARKHAND STORY DESK
New Delhi, Feb 22: In connection with a money laundering case related to the Delhi excise policy case, the Enforcement Directorate has served Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal its seventh summons.
On Monday, February 26, the leader of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has been invited to appear before the central agency.
The Chief Minister of Delhi ignored the preceding six summonses, referring to them as “illegal”.
On February 19, Kejriwal skipped the sixth summons and said the investigation agency should wait since the case is currently before the court.
“The Enforcement Directorate itself approached the court. Instead of sending summons again and again, the ED should wait for the court’s decision,” AAP stated earlier.
Kejriwal skipped six ED summons calling them illegal
Arvind Kejriwal skipped ED summonses six times on November 2 and December 22 in 2023 and January 3, January 18, February 2 and February 18 deeming them as unlawful and driven by political motives.
Kejriwal called the ED summons “illegal” and skipped them, stating that although he was willing to comply, the agency’s goal was to arrest him and prevent him from doing electoral campaigning.
Kejriwal virtually appeared before Delhi court on Feb 17
Due to Kejriwal’s persistent refusal to comply with the summonses, the ED has filed a complaint against him with the Delhi court.
In response to an ED complaint about his purported failure to comply with its summons, Kejriwal appeared before the Rouse Avenue Court via video conference on February 17.
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Kejriwal told the court during his virtual appearance that although he would have liked to attend in person, he was unable to do so because of the budget sessions and the confidence motion.
The court date of Kejriwal’s physical appearance was set for March 16, 2024, after Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Divya Malhotra granted his request for an exemption on Saturday.
ED filed complaint on Feb 3
After the Delhi Chief Minister ignored five summonses from the ED in the purported illegal liquor scam case, the ED had filed a complaint against him in Rouse Avenue Court on February 3.
The complaint was brought under Section 50 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act for failing to comply with an ED summons and Section 174 of the IPC for failing to appear in compliance with an order from a public servant.
Recently, the ED lodged a new complaint case citing violations of sections 190 (1)(a) and 200 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, Section 174 of the Indian Penal Code, and Section 63 (4) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), pertaining to failure to appear as required by Section 50 of the PMLA.
ED charges implicate Kejriwal’s involvement
The Central Bureau of Investigation’s First Information Report (FIR), alleges numerous irregularities in the development and execution of the Delhi excise policy (2021–22), serves as the foundation for the case against the head of the Aam Aadmi Party. The policy was rescinded in response to accusations of corruption.
The ED has stated that the AAP used bribes of Rs 45 crore obtained via the policy as part of their assembly elections campaign in Goa in 2022. The ED made this allegation in its sixth charge sheet, which was submitted on December 2, 2023, and named AAP leader Sanjay Singh and his aide Sarvesh Mishra.
In one of the six charge sheets filed in January 2023, it is mentioned that Kejriwal conveyed to businessman Sameer Mahendru that Vijay Nair, the former AAP communications in-charge, is someone he supports and trusts and advises Mahendru to place trust in him.
Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh, two prominent AAP leaders, are already being held in judicial custody in connection with this issue. The CBI arrested Sisodia, the deputy chief minister of Delhi at the time, on February 26 after multiple rounds of interrogation. The ED arrested Singh, a member of the Rajya Sabha, on October 5.
