New Delhi:
Delhi High Court on Wednesday sought the
Enforcement Directorate‘s response on a plea by former CM
Arvind Kejriwal challenging the summons issued to him in a money laundering case related to the alleged excise policy scam in the capital. Justice Ravinder Dudeja asked ED to file the counter affidavit within six weeks.
During the hearing, ED raised a preliminary objection over the maintainability of the petition, but the high court asked the agency to raise everything, including the preliminary objection, in its reply and listed the matter for hearing on Sept 10.
Kejriwal challenged a special court order dated Sept 17, 2024, by which his revision petition against a March 7, 2024, order of a magisterial court summoning him was dismissed.
Besides, the ex-CM also challenged a sessions court order which upheld an Oct 24 order of a magistrate refusing to transfer his case to another court. Even in this case, the high court issued notice on the second petition and asked ED to file its response within six weeks. It listed the matter for the same date while ED said the special court order was challenged after a delay of almost 10 months.
Poll
Should the Delhi government have implemented the excise policy?
Last year in June, Kejriwal was granted bail by a trial court in the money laundering case, but it was later stayed by the high court on the ED’s plea. However, a month later, Supreme Court granted interim bail to the AAP convener while referring to a larger bench three questions on the aspect of “need and necessity of arrest” under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.The ED’s money laundering case stems from an FIR lodged by Central Bureau of Investigation after Delhi lieutenant governor VK Saxena recommended a probe into the alleged irregularities in the implementation of the 2021-22 Delhi excise policy. According to ED and CBI, irregularities were allegedly committed while modifying the excise policy, and undue favours were extended to the licence holders.Delhi govt implemented the policy on Nov 17, 2021 and scrapped it by the end of Sept 2022 amid allegations of corruption.
