Delhi excise policy case: Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal skips 7th ED summon

Delhi excise policy case: Delhi chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convener Arvind Kejriwal on Monday skipped the seventh Enforcement Directorate (ED) summon, in the money laundering probe  related to alleged irregularities in the Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22 case. 

"The matter is in the court and the next hearing is on March 16. Instead of sending summons daily, the ED should wait for the court's decision. We will not leave the INDIA alliance. Modi government should not create pressure like this" the party source said further.

The ED issued a fresh summons to Kejriwal on Thursday, requesting his presence before the agency on February 26. This came after he had consistently avoided interrogation since November 2 of the previous year, when he was initially requested to appear before the probe agency but refused, citing the notice as "ambiguous, biased, and legally unsound."

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Arvind Kejriwal had earlier skipped five previous summons issued by the ED on February 2, January 18, January 3, November 2 and December 22, calling them "illegal and politically motivated.".

The ED wants to record Kejriwal's statement in the case on issues like the formulation of policy, meetings held before it was finalised, and allegations of bribery.While skipping the fifth summons issued by the ED, Kejriwal termed it "illegal", saying he was ready to cooperate but the agency's intention was to arrest him and stop him from election campaigning.

A day after Kejriwal skipped the fifth summons issued by the Enforcement Directorate, the agency on February 3 approached a Delhi Court against him for "non-compliance with the summons".

The case is based on a First Information Report (FIR) alleging multiple irregularities in the formation and implementation of the Delhi excise policy (2021-22) by the Central Bureau of Investigation. The policy was withdrawn after allegations of corruption.

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In its sixth charge sheet filed in the case on December 2, 2023, naming AAP leader Sanjay Singh and his alleged aide Sarvesh Mishra, the ED had claimed that the AAP used kickbacks worth Rs 45 crore generated via the policy as part of its assembly elections campaign in Goa in 2022.

Two senior AAP leaders -- Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh -- are already under judicial custody in the case. Sisodia, who was the then Delhi Deputy Chief Minister, was arrested by the CBI on February 26 following several rounds of questioning and on October 5, the ED arrested Singh, who is a Rajya Sabha member.