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Synopsis

A Delhi court has today issued summons to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in response to a plea filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), alleging non-compliance with the central agency's summons in the Delhi excise policy scam case.

Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) Divya Malhotra of the Rouse Avenue Courts pronounced her order, acknowledging the ED's complaint and directing summons to be issued to Kejriwal.

The judge has directed Kejriwal to appear on February 17. 

The court said, "By virtue of Section 50(3) of the PMLA Act, the respondent (Kejriwal) of the summonses, i.e., the proposed accused, was legally bound to attend in person in pursuance of the same, but purportedly he failed to do so."

"From the contents of the complaint and the material placed on record, a prima facie offence under Section 174 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, is made out, and there are sufficient grounds for proceeding under Section 204 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, against accused Mr. Arvind Kejriwal," the court ordered.

"Accordingly, issue summons to accused Mr. Arvind Kejriwal for the offence under Section 174 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, for 17.02.2024," it added.

The complaint, invoking Section 50 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, focuses on Kejriwal's non-attendance before the ED.

Today morning, the judge reserved the order after the ED submitted that it had concluded the arguments in the matter.

Despite receiving five summons on different dates, Kejriwal has chosen not to appear, while other AAP leaders like Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh are already in custody in the same case.

The ED's investigation into money laundering allegations originates from a case registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) regarding irregularities in the Delhi Excise Policy for 2021–22.

The CBI case, initiated on a complaint by Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena, led to the ED registering a money laundering case against the accused persons. The allegations include a criminal conspiracy by AAP leaders, intentional loopholes in the policy, and kickbacks through hawala channels to achieve monopoly and cartelization among liquor manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers.

Case Title: Directorate of Enforcement v. Arvind Kejriwal