Arvind Kejriwal to Skip 6th ED Summons, AAP Deems Summons “Illegal”
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) announced on Monday that Arvind Kejriwal, the national convenor and Chief Minister of Delhi, will not comply with the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) sixth summons, asserting that the summonses are “illegal.” The party argued that the ED should await the court’s decision rather than repeatedly issuing summonses to Kejriwal. This development is related to the money laundering investigation concerning irregularities in the Delhi excise policy 2021-22.
This marks the sixth time that Arvind Kejriwal will be skipping the ED’s summons. The ED had sought legal intervention after Kejriwal missed multiple summonses. In the court’s decision on Saturday, it granted exemption to Kejriwal from personal appearance for the day. The court application stated that the Delhi assembly’s Budget Session has commenced, and Kejriwal will physically appear on March 16, the next hearing date.
On February 2, Kejriwal had skipped the ED’s summons for the fifth time, with the party labeling it as “unlawful.” The ED aims to record Kejriwal’s statement on issues such as the formulation of policy, pre-finalization meetings, and allegations of bribery.
The ED’s sixth charge sheet, filed on December 2, 2023, implicated AAP leader Sanjay Singh and his aide Sarvesh Mishra, claiming that the AAP utilized kickbacks of ₹45 crore generated through the policy for its assembly elections campaign in Goa in 2022.
