For the second time in as many months, the Enforcement Directorate has summoned Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for questioning in the excise policy case, an exercise that he had managed to duck on November 2 citing pre-occupation with Assembly election campaign in other states and calling the probe agency’s action “politically motivated”. The AAP convenor has been summoned by the ED on Thursday amid speculation that the Chief Minister may be arrested soon after grilling. However, it will be interesting to see if he, like last time, questions the intent o
f the summons or presents himself before investigators who want to question him on money trail which allegedly leads to the AAP party fund and election campaigns. An investigating agency can secure a non-bailable warrant against a person whom it wants to question if the latter fails to face questioning on three occasion, say legal experts.
The fresh ED summons come a few days before AAP convenor plans to leave for a secret destination on December 19 for a 10-day session of Vipassana – a tour that he undertakes every year. Earlier, Kejriwal had failed to show up at the ED office last month and questioned the very notice sent to him. The Delhi Chief Minister had responded to the ED summons by writing a letter to the agency saying, “The said summons is not clear as to the capacity in which I am being summoned i.e. as a witness or a suspect in the above-mentioned case. Please recall the said summons, which is to say the least is vague and motivated and I am advised, unsustainable in law.” Kejriwal’s letter was addressed to ED Assistant Director Jogendar.
The fresh summons to Kejriwal will also renew talk of his party being made an accused in this case, which would be an unprecedented in Indian politics.
After the Supreme Court posed a question to ED in October on the reason why the AAP was still not made an accused in the excise policy case, speculation had peaked over the possibility of Kejriwal being arrested.
Kejriwal was earlier summoned by the CBI in April this year, in connection with the case. However, Kejriwal was not named as an accused in the first information report (FIR) filed by the CBI on August 17, last year.
In February 2023, Delhi’s Deputy CM Manish Sisodia was arrested by the CBI for alleged irregularities in the framing and implementation of the now-scrapped Delhi’s new excise policy. Facing heat from Opposition parties, the AAP government had hurriedly withdrawn the controversial policy.
