Delhi ex-CM Kejriwal acquitted in ED summons cases

A Delhi court on Thursday acquitted former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in two cases filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) seeking action against him for allegedly skipping summons issued in the Delhi excise policy investigation.

The order was passed by Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Paras Dalal of the Rouse Avenue Courts, bringing an end to proceedings initiated by the central agency over Kejriwal’s non-appearance before it during the early phase of the money laundering probe.

The ED had moved the court in February 2024, accusing AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal of failing to comply with summons issued under Section 50 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). According to the agency, Kejriwal did not appear despite five summons issued to him on different dates in connection with the investigation into alleged irregularities in the now-scrapped Delhi Excise Policy for 2021-22.

The cases before the Rouse Avenue court were limited to the issue of non-compliance with the summons and did not deal with the merits of the alleged excise policy scam itself.

The ED’s money laundering probe has its roots in a case registered earlier by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The CBI lodged an FIR on August 17, 2022, following a complaint by Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena dated July 20, 2022, alleging irregularities in the formulation and implementation of the excise policy.

Subsequently, on August 22, 2022, the ED registered a case under the PMLA to investigate the alleged laundering of proceeds of crime linked to the excise policy.

Kejriwal was later arrested by the ED in the main money laundering case, a move that triggered a major political confrontation between the AAP and the BJP-led Centre. After a prolonged legal battle, the Supreme Court granted him bail, allowing him temporary relief while the trial in the substantive case continues.