Excise policy case: Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi CM to skip ED summons for fifth time

Arvind Kejriwal, the chief minister of Delhi, has declined to respond to a summons from the Enforcement Directorate regarding money laundering concerns stemming from irregularities in the Delhi excise policy 2021-22 case for the fifth time. The fourth summons, which the Delhi CM had disregarded on January 18, was followed by the new one. The party referred to the fifth summons as “unlawful” while ignoring it.

“Delhi CM and AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal will not appear before ED today as well. We will comply with the lawful summons. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s aim is to arrest Arvind Kejriwal and topple the Delhi government. We will not allow this to happen,” the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) said.

Kejriwal has so far skipped four previous summons issued by the ED on January 18, January 3, November 2, and December 22, calling them “illegal and politically motivated.”

The Enforcement Department (ED) seeks to record Kejriwal’s statement in relation to matters such as policy formulation, pre-finalization meetings, and bribery allegations. Kejriwal dismissed the fourth ED summons as “illegal,” saying he was willing to comply but that the agency’s goal was to arrest him and prevent him from running for office.

“All four notices sent to me (by the ED) are illegal and invalid in the eyes of the law. Whenever such general, non-specific notices were sent by the ED in the past, they were quashed and declared invalid by courts. These notices are being sent as part of a political conspiracy,” Kejriwal said after skipping the fourth notice.

The case is based on a First Information Report (FIR) filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) that claims there were numerous irregularities in the creation and execution of the Delhi excise policy (2021–2022). The policy was rescinded in response to accusations of corruption. The ED has stated that the AAP used kickbacks worth Rs 45 crore generated via the policy as part of its assembly elections campaign in Goa in 2022. The ED made this claim in its sixth charge sheet, which was filed on December 2, 2023, and named AAP leader Sanjay Singh and his aide Sarvesh Mishra.