Excise Case: Delhi court takes note of ED’s complaint, issues summons to Kejriwal

The Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) recent complaint against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for failing to appear at the central probe agency’s summons in the Delhi liquor policy money laundering case was admitted by the Rouse Avenue Court on Wednesday. After reviewing the complaint, Divya Malhotra, the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, summoned Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and gave him an order to appear in court on February 17.

The ED on Saturday filed a fresh complaint case under sections 190 (1)(a) and 200 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, Section 174 of the Indian Penal Code, Section 63 (4) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), for non-attendance in compliance of Section 50 of PMLA.

The fifth time that Kejriwal has eschewed the Enforcement Directorate’s summons in relation to the money laundering investigation into irregularities in the Delhi excise policy 2021–22 case was on February 2. The fourth summons, which the Delhi Chief Minister had disregarded on January 18, was followed by the most recent one. The party referred to the fifth summons as “unlawful” while ignoring it. The ED issued four summonses on January 18, January 3, November 2, and December 22. Kejriwal has so far disregarded them, claiming they were “illegal and politically motivated.”

The excise policy aimed to replace a sales-volume-based system with a license fee for traders and revive the city’s flagging liquor business. It promised better shopping experiences and swankier stores. For the first time, the policy offered discounts and promotions on the purchase of alcoholic beverages in Delhi. The policy was abandoned as a result of Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena’s decision to launch an investigation into purported irregularities in the regime. The AAP has claimed that Anil Baijal, Saxena’s predecessor, obstructed the transition with a few last-minute adjustments that led to lower-than-anticipated revenue.

In its sixth charge sheet filed in the case on December 2, 2023, naming AAP leader Sanjay Singh and his aide Sarvesh Mishra, the ED has 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.