Today, On 23rd October, The High Court scheduled a hearing for January 22 on Arvind Kejriwal’s plea challenging the Enforcement Directorate (ED) summons in the excise policy case. Kejriwal, the Chief Minister of Delhi, is seeking legal relief from the ED’s questioning. The case is part of an ongoing investigation into alleged irregularities in Delhi’s excise policy.
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday set January 22 as the date for hearing a petition filed by Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Arvind Kejriwal, challenging the summons issued to him by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with its investigation into the excise policy-related money laundering case.
A bench comprising Justices Prathiba M Singh and Amit Sharma deferred the hearing, noting that certain issues raised in Kejriwal’s petition are currently pending before the Supreme Court, adding complexity to the case.
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Kejriwal approached the High Court after the ED issued a ninth summons, requiring him to appear on March 21 as part of its ongoing probe into alleged irregularities in Delhi’s liquor policy. The case is part of a broader investigation involving senior AAP leaders, with the ED scrutinizing potential links to money laundering activities.
The Delhi High Court, on March 20, directed the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to file a response regarding the maintainability of Arvind Kejriwal’s petition. A day later, the court also asked the ED to respond to Kejriwal’s request for protection from arrest but stated that “at this stage,” it was not inclined to offer any interim relief.
Later that evening, Kejriwal arrested by the ED.
Currently, the AAP leader is out on interim bail in the money laundering case, with the Supreme Court referring key questions regarding the “need and necessity of arrest” under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to a larger bench for detailed review. Kejriwal previously been arrested by the CBI in the same corruption case on June 26 but granted bail by the Supreme Court on September 13.
The ED has alleged that other accused in the case were in contact with Kejriwal to draft the now-scrapped excise policy, which allegedly resulted in undue benefits and kickbacks to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). In his petition, Kejriwal has also challenged the constitutionality of certain provisions of the PMLA, specifically regarding arrest, interrogation, and bail.
Kejriwal’s plea raises several legal issues, including whether a political party can fall under the purview of anti-money laundering laws.
The petition claims that the “arbitrary procedure” under the PMLA is being used to create an uneven playing field ahead of general elections, in an attempt to “skew the electoral process in favor of the ruling party at the Centre.”
It further argues that Kejriwal, a “vocal critic” of the ruling party and a key figure in the opposition INDIA bloc, is being targeted as the ED, controlled by the Union government, has been “weaponized.”