ED summons Kejriwal on February 2, but Delhi CM to hold stir at BJP’s HQ

This is the fifth time that Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has been issued summons in connection with the Delhi excise policy case

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued summons to Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, asking him to appear before it on February 2 in connection with its investigation into a money laundering case linked to alleged irregularities in the Delhi excise policy 2021-22, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal CM Arvind Kejriwal has skipped four previous ED summons, calling them ‘illegal and politically motivated’. (Vipin Kumar/HT photo)

This is the fifth time that Kejriwal, who is also the national convener of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), has been issued summons in connection with the case. He has skipped four previous summons — on November 2 and December 22, 2023 and January 3 and 18 this year — calling them “illegal and politically motivated”.

AAP officials, meanwhile, said that Kejriwal, along with his Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Mann, will hold a protest on February 2 — the date of the summons — against alleged “malpractice” by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) during the recently concluded Chandigarh mayoral election.

The officials said the protest will be held outside the BJP headquarters in New Delhi.

The party did not immediately comment on whether Kejriwal will appear before ED in connection with the fresh summons. However, AAP chief spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar said, “We have received information about the fifth summons. Our legal team is studying it, and whatever is right as per the law will be done.”

To be sure, Kejriwal has in the past consistently objected to the ED summons by saying that it was not clear whether he was asked to appear before the agency as a witness or suspect; as chief minister or as AAP chief; and without any details on the line of questioning.

After he skipped the fourth summons on January 18, he alleged that the summons were part of a political conspiracy to stop him from campaigning for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

“All the four summonses are illegal and invalid. Different courts have termed such general, non-specific ED summons illegal and have quashed them. I have written to ED multiple times on why the ED notices are illegal, but ED has not responded,” he said at the time.

“Two months before Lok Sabha polls, I have been summoned. BJP leaders are saying that I will be arrested. How does the BJP know that I will be arrested? It is because the BJP is running ED. They do not want me to campaign in the Lok Sabha polls. The entire purpose of the summons is to arrest me before Lok Sabha polls and stop me from campaigning,” he added.

The federal agency, however, has said that it wants to question Kejriwal on the formulation of the excise policy, on the meetings held before it was finalised, and about allegations of bribery.

The BJP, meanwhile, accused Kejriwal of making a “mockery” of the Constitution by skipping the previous four summons. “He is trying to escape by making new excuses,” said Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva.

Leader of the opposition in the Delhi assembly Ramvir Singh Bidhuri added, “This time Kejriwal should have the courage to appear before ED, because ED and the public also want to know who is involved in the liquor scam.”

The Delhi government’s 2021-22 excise policy aimed to revitalise the city’s flagging liquor business. The plan, however, came to an abrupt end, with lieutenant governor VK Saxena recommending a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into alleged irregularities in the regime.

ED has alleged that the AAP received kickbacks to the tune of ₹100 crore to finalise the excise policy, and that some of this money was used by the party in its Goa elections campaign. The agency has already arrested at least 14 top AAP leaders, in connection with the case, including former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia and parliamentarian Sanjay Singh.

AAP, Kejriwal, Sisodia, and Singh have denied all charges, and have called the case a “witch-hunt” and “political vendetta” at the behest of the Union government. The party has also been running a campaign to seek public feedback on whether Kejriwal should step down as chief minister if he is arrested.