New Delhi: A Delhi court on Thursday summoned Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to appear before it on March 16 after the Enforcement Directorate approached the court against non-compliance of its summons by the CM. The ED had issued multiple summons to the CM in an alleged money laundering case related to an excise scam. Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Divya Malhotra instructed the Delhi Chief Minister to appear before the court on March 16.
According to the ED, the latest complaint pertains to the Aam Aadmi Party national convenor not honouring fresh summons sent to him under Section 50 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
Earlier, ED had filed a case in the local court to prosecute Kejriwal for not attending summons issued to him in the money laundering case connected to the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy.
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 for campaigning during the Goa assembly polls in 2022.
The excise policy was aimed at revitalizing the city’s flagging liquor business and replacing a sales-volume-based regime with a licence fee for traders. It promised swankier stores and a better buying experience. The policy introduced discounts and offers on the purchase of liquor for the first time in Delhi.
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. On October 5 last year, the ED arrested Singh, who is a Rajya Sabha member.
Delhi Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena’s move to order a probe into alleged irregularities in the regime prompted the scrapping of the policy. The AAP has accused Saxena’s predecessor, Anil Baijal, of sabotaging the move with a few last-minute changes that resulted in lower-than-expected revenues.