In a continued legal development, the Directorate of Enforcement issued the seventh summons to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, compelling him to appear before the agency on February 26. This comes in the backdrop of an ongoing money laundering probe related to alleged irregularities in the Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22 case.
Kejriwal had previously been served with six summonses, the latest of which was on February 14, instructing him to join the investigation by February 19. However, the Chief Minister skipped the fifth summons on February 2, prompting the issuance of the latest summons.
The Enforcement Directorate aims to record Kejriwal’s statement regarding the formulation of the Delhi Excise Policy, meetings held before its finalization, and allegations of bribery. The Chief Minister has labeled the previous summonses as “illegal and politically motivated,” asserting that they are part of a political conspiracy.
In response to Kejriwal’s non-compliance with the fifth summons, the Enforcement Directorate approached a Delhi Court on February 3, citing “non-compliance with the summons.”
The case revolves around an FIR alleging irregularities in the formation and implementation of the Delhi Excise Policy (2021-22) by the Central Bureau of Investigation. The policy was withdrawn amidst corruption allegations.
In its sixth charge sheet filed on December 2, 2023, the Enforcement Directorate implicated AAP leader Sanjay Singh and his alleged aide Sarvesh Mishra, claiming that the AAP used kickbacks worth Rs 45 crore generated via the policy for its assembly elections campaign in Goa in 2022.
Currently, two senior AAP leaders, Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh, are under judicial custody in connection with the case. Sisodia, the then Delhi Deputy Chief Minister, was arrested by the CBI on February 26, while Singh, a Rajya Sabha member, was arrested by the ED on October 5.
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