ED issues 6th summons to Arvind Kejriwal
The Enforcement Directorate has summoned Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for the sixth time in connection with a money laundering case related to the excise policy, according to official sources. Kejriwal, who is also the national convener of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), has been instructed to appear before the agency on February 19.
A Delhi court, responding to a complaint by the ED regarding Kejriwal’s non-compliance with previous summonses, has directed him to appear on February 17, stating that he is obligated to do so under the law.
The ED alleges that Kejriwal repeatedly ignored summons for questioning in order to uncover his involvement, as well as that of others, in the case and to track additional proceeds of illegal activities. The agency asserts that Kejriwal deliberately disregarded each summons, treating each instance as a separate offence. This marks the sixth summons issued by the ED to Kejriwal, a former Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer, in relation to this case.
Kejriwal has consistently labelled these notices as unlawful. His name has appeared multiple times in charge sheets filed by the ED, which duals communicated with him regarding the formulation of the now-defunct Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22. Several AAP leaders, including Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh, along with the party’s communications in-charge Vijay Nair and certain businessmen, have been arrested by the ED in connection with this case.
The ED had claimed in its chargesheet that the AAP used “proceeds of crime” to the tune of about Rs 45 crore in its Goa election campaign.
The agency is also expected to file a fresh supplementary charge sheet 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 V K Saxena recommended a CBI probe, following which the ED registered a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
