Arvind Kejriwal appears before court in ED summons case, granted bail

Tribune News Service

Anshita Mehra

New Delhi, March 16

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was granted bail by a local court in the Capital on Saturday in connection with the Enforcement Directorate (ED) summons case. Upon his first physical appearance, the Rouse Avenue Court granted Kejriwal bail on a bond of Rs 15,000 and a surety of Rs 1 lakh in two cases filed by the ED for skipping agency summons related to the alleged excise policy scam. “Both bonds were furnished, and Kejriwal was allowed to go,” said advocate Ramesh Gupta.

This marked Kejriwal’s first in-person appearance, having previously attended hearings via video-conferencing. Reacting to the bail, BJP MP Manoj Tiwari emphasised the importance of abiding by the law. “He has been granted bail on a bond of Rs 15,000 in the case of complaints filed by the ED. He is on bail and has been instructed by the court to respond to the ED summons and obey the law. Adhering to the law is appropriate for a person who has taken the oath of the Constitution,” Tiwari said.

Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva echoed similar sentiments, remarking, “Kejriwal taking bail in the ED summons evasion case indicates that his appearance was mandatory, and his failure to appear was wrong.”

The Rouse Avenue Court on Friday reserved an order on the stay of summons issued to Kejriwal on complaints filed by the ED. Kejriwal had challenged the summons issued by the court after taking cognisance of two complaints filed by the ED for avoidance of the summons issued to him. The ED had filed complaints against Kejriwal for disobeying summons related to the Delhi excise policy case. Kejriwal had defended his absence, citing reasons which he claimed were not false. However, the court refused to stay the summons, and Kejriwal was subsequently issued fresh summons for his personal appearance.

The second complaint against Kejriwal was filed under various sections, including non-attendance in compliance with Section 50 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002. Kejriwal’s virtual appearance on February 17 was followed by the issuance of a fresh

summons last week for his personal appearance on March 16.

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