Today(on 15th May), Delhi High Court schedules July 11 hearing for Kejriwal’s challenge against ED summons in excise policy money laundering case. AAP leader granted four weeks by Justice Suresh Kumar Kait to respond to ED’s reply.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!
NEW DELHI: Today(on 15th May), The Delhi High Court has set a hearing date for July 11 to address Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s petition contesting the summons issued to him by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with its probe into the excise policy-linked money laundering case.
Presided over by Justice Suresh Kumar Kait, the bench has allowed the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader an extra four weeks to submit a rejoinder to the ED’s response.
The Supreme Court had previously granted interim bail to Kejriwal until June 1 to allow him to campaign for the Lok Sabha Elections. The ED’s counsel had argued that the petition challenging the summons was infructuous following Kejriwal’s arrest by the agency on March 21. This arrest came after the high court refused to grant him interim protection from coercive action.
On Wednesday, the ED’s lawyer stated-
“The petitioner must select the forum where they will raise their concerns.”
The court observed that a single judge of the high court had already addressed Kejriwal’s grievances in rejecting his petition against his arrest, and an appeal against this decision was pending in the Supreme Court.
ALSO READ: BREAKING | Supreme Court Grants Bail to Arvind Kejriwal Until June 1, 2024
“Follow instructions. Nothing remains in the petition.”
– remarked the bench, which also included Justice Manoj Jain.
Senior advocate Vikram Chaudhary, representing Kejriwal, argued that the petition raised issues concerning the “reading down” of certain provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) that had not been resolved by the single judge. He requested additional time to file the rejoinder.
“The petitioner’s counsel requests and is given four weeks to submit a rejoinder.”
-the court responded.
Previously, on April 22, the court had provided Kejriwal with two weeks to file his rejoinder. Kejriwal, the national convenor of AAP, had approached the high court following the ninth summons issued by the ED, which required his appearance on March 21. On March 20, the high court had instructed the ED to file a reply regarding the maintainability of the petition. The next day, the court asked the ED to also respond to Kejriwal’s plea seeking protection from arrest, stating, “at this stage,” it was not inclined to grant any interim relief. Kejriwal was arrested by the ED later that evening.
The investigative agency has claimed that other defendants involved in the case had communicated with Kejriwal regarding the development of the excise policy, which has since been revoked, allegedly leading to unjust advantages and illicit payments to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). Kejriwal, in his petition, has also contested the constitutional legitimacy of specific provisions of the PMLA relating to arrest, interrogation, and bail issuance.
ALSO READ: EXCLUSIVE | “Kejriwal Can’t Enter CM Office & Delhi Secretariat During Interim Bail”: SC
Kejriwal’s petition addresses numerous concerns, such as whether a political party falls within the scope of anti-money laundering legislation. It asserts that the “unsystematic process” outlined in the PMLA is being utilized to tilt the electoral balance in favor of the ruling party during general elections, thus influencing the electoral process unfairly. The plea further contends that Kejriwal, a vocal opponent of the ruling party and a member of the opposition INDIA bloc, claims that the Enforcement Directorate, under the authority of the Union government, has been “weaponized.”