ED issues third summons to Kejriwal in Delhi excise policy case

ED has issued a fresh summons to Arvind Kejriwal for questioning on January 3 in the excise policy-linked money laundering investigation, sources said.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued third summons to Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal to appear before it for questioning on January 3 in the Delhi excise policy case, sources said on Friday.

Mr. Kejriwal did not appear before the agency on two earlier summons sent for questioning on November 2 and December 21. 

Responding to the development, the AAP said that since Mr. Kejriwal had left for a Vipassana course, the party could not confirm if the third summons had been received or not. 

“This is a completely fake case only to target the AAP leadership. The BJP has not been able to produce a single evidence in the courts. It’s just political vendetta to counter the growing popularity of the AAP across the country. Since Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has left for Vipassana on 20th, we cannot confirm if another summons has been received or not,” the party said in a statement. 

On December 20, Mr. Kejriwal left Delhi for a 10-day Vipassana meditation in Punjab and wrote to the ED that the summons was at the behest of his “political rivals” and “not in consonance with law”. 

The case against the AAP supremo is based on a First Information Report (FIR) alleging multiple irregularities in the formation and implementation of the Delhi excise policy (2021-22) by the Central Bureau of Investigation. The policy was withdrawn after allegations of corruption.  

But following a summons by the CBI, Mr. Kejriwal appeared before the agency on April 16 and he was questioned for nine hours. Speaking to the media after the questioning, the Chief Minister alleged that the entire case was fabricated and agencies had no proof, and the case was built to bring the AAP down.