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Arvind Kejriwal finally appears before Delhi court in ED summons case, gets bail
Arvind Kejriwal has been skipping the summons by the ED, saying they were illegal and politically motivated.
New Delhi: Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday appeared before a court in the national capital in the Enforcement Directorate summons case.
The city's Rouse Avenue Court later granted him bail in the case filed by the agency for skipping its summonses. This was the first time Kejriwal appeared before the court physically, in connection with the case. At the last hearing, he appeared via video conferencing.
The Enforcement Directorate has filed two complaints against Kejriwal for disobeying their summonses to join the probe in the Delhi excise policy case. It wants to record Arvind Kejriwal's statement on topics like the formulation of policy, meetings held before it was finalised and allegations of bribery.
However, Kejriwal has been skipping the summonses, saying they were illegal and politically motivated.
“The court directed him (Arvind Kejriwal) to furnish a bond and surety bond for the sum of ₹50,000. Both bonds were furnished and Kejriwal was allowed to go. After that we moved an application for supply of copies under 207 and 91 CrPC for which reply and arguments - the date is fixed for April 1,” advocate Ramesh Gupta told ANI.
BJP attacks Kejriwal
BJP MP Manoj Tiwari said Arvind Kejriwal should follow the law.
"He has got bail on a bail bond of ₹15,000 in the case of complaints filed by ED. He is on bail and has been asked by the court to respond to the ED summons and obey the law. Following the law is appropriate for a person who has taken the oath of the Constitution," he added.
AAP leader Reena Gupta said there is no evidence against Kejriwal.
"We have been saying from the start that this is a political vendetta & is a baseless case. No evidence has been found," she said.
Also read: Delhi Court rejects Kejriwal appeal to stay ED summons in excise case
On Friday, the court refused to stay the summonses. Kejriwal had claimed there was no intentional disobedience on his part and he had always explained the reasons for his absence, which weren't found false.
Also read: BJP leader attacks Kejriwal for comments over CAA protests: ‘Evil face…’
On February 17, Kejriwal appeared virtually. Last week, the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate took cognizance of the Enforcement Directorate's second complaint and issued a fresh summons to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for his personal appearance before the court on March 16.
The second complaint against Kejriwal was moved under Section 190 (1)(a) CrPC r/w section 200 CrPC 1973 r/w section 174 IPC, 1860 r/w section 63 (4) of PMLA, 2002 for non-attendance in compliance with Section 50, PMLA, 2002.
Allegations against AAP leaders
Six charge sheets have been filed in the Delhi excise policy case as of now. In its sixth charge sheet, the ED named AAP leader Sanjay Singh and his aide Sarvesh Mishra and claimed that the AAP used kickbacks worth ₹45 crore generated via the policy as part of its assembly elections campaign in Goa in 2022.
AAP leader Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh are in jail over similar charges. The party claims the Centre wants ED to arrest Arvind Kejriwal so that the latter can't campaign for the Lok Sabha elections.
