Hours after Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal skipped the Enforcement Directorate’s summons for the sixth time, sources said that the agency claimed that the court had taken cognizance of a complaint filed by a probe agency under Section 174 of the Indian Penal Code against the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader.
Section 174 refers to not obeying a legal order to attend a certain place in person or by an agent.
According to sources, the complaint was filed against Kejriwal for purposefully violating the first three summons issued to him.
According to agency sources, the court has taken cognizance of the matter and has tentatively acknowledged that Kejriwal committed an offense for which he may face prosecution.
They went on to say that the matter before the court is not about the legitimacy of the summons but about Kejriwal’s criminal act of knowingly violating the three summons.
Earlier in the day, party sources stated that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will not appear before the ED for interrogation in connection with an excise policy case involving money laundering.
The AAP labelled the ED summons as ‘illegal’, claiming that the validity of the summons is now being litigated in court.
“ED itself has gone to court. Instead of sending summons again and again, ED should wait for the court’s decision,” a party source said.
On February 2, Kejriwal ignored the ED’s summons for the fifth time in connection with the money laundering investigation into irregularities in the Delhi excise policy 2021-22 case.
On February 17, Kejriwal appeared in Rouse Avenue Court via video conference following the ED’s complaint about his purported noncompliance with its summons.
Kejriwal, while appearing virtually, informed the court that he wished to attend the court proceedings in person, but was unable to do so due to the confidence motion and budget sessions.
Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Divya Malhotra granted Kejriwal’s exemption plea on Saturday and scheduled his physical appearance in court for March 16, 2024.
The ED has filed a new complaint case under Sections 190 (1)(a) and 200 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, Section 174 of the Indian Penal Code, and Section 63 (4) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) for non-attendance in compliance of Section 50 of PMLA.
According to the ED, the agency intended to record Kejriwal’s statement in the case about policy formation, discussions held before it was finalized, and charges of bribery.
The ED alleged in its sixth charge sheet filed in the case on December 2, 2023, citing AAP leader Sanjay Singh and his aide Sarvesh Mishra, that the AAP used kickbacks worth Rs 45 crore generated under the scheme as part of their Goa assembly election campaign in 2022.
