A two-judge bench of the Delhi High Court on March 21 refused to grant protection to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal against any coercive action by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on summonses related to the Delhi Excise Policy scam.
"We are not inclined to pass such an order at this stage," the court said. The plea is now likely to come up for hearing on April 22 and the court has directed the ED to file a response.
So far, the ED has issued nine summonses to Kejriwal in connection with the liquor policy "scam" case. On March 20, Kejriwal informed the Delhi High Court that he would not appear before the ED, citing concerns about a potential arrest, particularly with elections approaching.
This response from Kejriwal came after the court questioned why he had not appeared before the investigating agency for questioning in the money laundering case linked to the excise policy. The court sought the agency's stance on Kejriwal's plea challenging the summonses issued against him.
Kejriwal's move to approach the court follows the latest summons, asking him to appear on Thursday (March 21). Despite the repeated summonses, Kejriwal has consistently refused to appear before the agency, asserting that the summonses are invalid.
The court highlighted that immediate arrest is not standard practice and indicated that Kejriwal status in the case would be clarified once he appears before the ED. Additionally, the court questioned why appropriate legal action had not been taken if Kejriwal anticipated arrest.
The court underscored Kejriwal's status as a citizen of the country and emphasized the importance of responding to the summonses issued in his name.
The above developments come shortly on the heels of a Delhi court granting bail to Kejriwal on March 16, in two complaints filed by the ED against him for skipping summons in a money laundering case linked to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam. The court of Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Divya Malhotra also allowed Kejriwal to leave the courtroom.
“Offence being bailable, accused Arvind Kejriwal is admitted to bail,” it said.
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