New Delhi: Delhi’s Rouse Avenue court has summoned Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on 17 February after a criminal complaint was filed against him by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for refusing to appear for questioning in a money-laundering probe linked to the excise policy case.
The court of Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Divya Malhotra Wednesday asked Kejriwal to appear in person before it.
The agency had on Saturday moved the court over non-compliance by Kejriwal under Sections 190(1)(a) and 200 of The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (cognisance of a criminal complaint by a magistrate), 174 of the Indian Penal Code 1860 (non-attendance in obedience to an order from public servant) and Section 63(4) of PMLA, 2002 (person intentionally disobeying summons will be punished as per section 174 of IPC).
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief has so far ignored five summons by the ED, calling them “illegal”.
The first summon was issued on 30 October, in which the agency asked him to appear on 2 October, while the last summon was sent out in January, asking Kejriwal to appear before investigating officers on 2 February.
The court noted the ED’s complaint that the case in question is of excise policy for 2021-22 which was implemented as part of “criminal conspiracy” with “deliberate loopholes” to produce and channelise illicit funds by the members of the Aam Aadmi Party.
The agency was looking to question Kejriwal, who is also the national convener of the party to “unearth” his and others’ roles in this case and to find out further the proceeds of crime generated through this policy, the court further noted.
“To sum up, from the contents of the complaint and the material placed on record, prima facie offence under Section 174 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 is made out and there are sufficient grounds for proceeding under Section 204 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 against accused Mr. Arvind Kejriwal,” the judge said in the order.
Sources in AAP said that the order was being reviewed and their reason behind calling the summons “illegal” would be explained to the court.
‘Intentionally skipped summons on frivolous objections’
ThePrint has seen a copy of the ED’s complaint to the court, in which it said the Delhi CM had intentionally skipped summons over “lame excuses” and “frivolous objections”.
The agency said it has arrested 14 people so far in the ongoing investigation into the excise policy case, including top AAP leaders Manish Sisodia, MP Sanjay Singh and Vijay Nair.
It said officers are empowered under Section 50 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act to summon persons whose attendance was necessary to the investigation.
The agency cited a three-judge bench order of the Supreme Court to claim that Section 50(2) makes a person summoned by it “bound to attend in person” and “state truth upon any subject concerning which he is being examined or is expected to make a statement”.
“Instead of Shri Arvind Kejriwal, the accused herein/respondent who was legally bound to attend in person as required under the aforesaid summons at the place and time mentioned in the said summons which were issued by the complainant who is a public servant, Shri Kejriwal intentionally omitted to obey the summons and intentionally omitted to attend at the place or time mentioned in the summons,” the agency said in its complaint.
It added: “Instead of attending pursuant to the summons, Shri Arvind Kejriwal raised frivolous objections and deliberately created grounds which clearly show that Arvind Kejriwal intentionally did not want to obey the summons and kept on giving lame excuses which were not only frivolous but made with an intention to make out a false defence. From the replies given by Shri Arvind Kejriwal/accused herein, it is manifest that the intention of Arvind Keiriwal was to disobey the summons and to create a false pretext to camouflage such intention of disobedience of summons.”
(Edited by Tikli Basu)
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