ED Summons Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal for Fourth Time In Excise Policy Case

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has sent a fourth summons to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, asking him to appear before the central probe agency on January 18, sources said. The summons is related to the alleged Delhi excise policy case, which involves charges of corruption and money laundering in the liquor trade.

This is the fourth time that the ED has summoned Kejriwal in this case. The Delhi CM has not complied with the previous three summons, citing legal and procedural issues. He has also accused the ED of being biased and acting on political motives.

The ED had first summoned Kejriwal on November 2, last year, but he did not show up, claiming that the notice was “vague, motivated and unsustainable in law.” The ED then issued a second summons on December 18, asking him to join the investigation on December 21. Kejriwal again skipped the summons, saying that he had not received any response from the ED to his queries on the nature and scope of the investigation.

The ED issued a third summons on December 22, directing Kejriwal to appear before the agency on January 3, this year. Kejriwal once again refused to depose, calling the notice “illegal.” He also expressed his willingness to cooperate with the investigation, but only if the ED clarified the basis and purpose of the summons.

In his written reply to the ED, the Delhi CM said “As a premier investigating agency the non-disclosure and non-response approach adopted by you cannot sustain the test of law, equity or justice. Your obstinacy is tantamount to assuming the role of judge, jury and executioner at the same time which is not acceptable in our country governed by the rule of law.”

The ED has been probing the alleged Delhi liquor scam case since August 17, last year, when it registered a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) based on a CBI FIR. The CBI had also summoned Kejriwal in April, last year, in connection with the case. However, Kejriwal was not named as an accused in the CBI FIR.

The case pertains to the alleged irregularities in the framing and implementation of the Delhi’s new excise policy, which was scrapped in February 2023, following allegations of foul play by the opposition parties. The policy had allowed private players to operate liquor vends in the national capital, allegedly leading to loss of revenue and illegal transactions.

The CBI had arrested Kejriwal’s deputy Manish Sisodia in February 2023, for his alleged role in the scam. Sisodia was accused of abusing his official position and favouring certain private firms in the award of liquor contracts. He was later released on bail.