Delhi CM Kejriwal skips 7th summons in excise policy case

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday, February 26, skipped seventh summons issued to him by the Enforcement Directorate for questioning in the Delhi excise policy-linked money laundering case.

"Delhi Chief Minister and AAP National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal will not go to ED today. 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," Aam Aadmi Party said in a statement.

Kejriwal has skipped all the summons, terming them as "illegal" and has written to the ED seeking their withdrawal. The ED had recently filed a fresh complaint before a local court against Kejriwal for disobeying its summons in this case.

The court has listed the matter for further hearing on March 16 as it exempted Kejriwal from personal appearance last week. The court also said that from the contents of the complaint and the material placed on record (by the ED), prima facie offence under Section 174 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) is made out and there are sufficient grounds for proceeding against the accused (Kejriwal).

Kejriwal's name has been mentioned multiple times in charge sheets filed by the ED in the case. The agency has said that the accused were in touch with him regarding the preparation of the now-scrapped Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22. AAP leaders Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh apart from communications in-charge of the party Vijay Nair have been arrested in this case by the ED till now.

The ED had claimed in its chargesheet that the AAP used "proceeds of crime" to the tune of about ₹45 crore in its Goa election campaign. The agency is also expected to file a fresh supplementary chargeheet in the case and may name the AAP as a "beneficiary" of the alleged kickbacks that were generated through the excise policy.

It is alleged that the Delhi government's excise policy for 2021-22 to grant licences to liquor traders allowed cartelisation and favoured certain dealers who had allegedly paid bribes for it, a charge repeatedly refuted by the AAP. The policy was subsequently scrapped and Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena recommended a CBI probe, following which the ED registered a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).