Delhi court acquits Kejriwal in ED summons cases linked to liquor policy
A Delhi court has acquitted AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal in cases linked to alleged non-compliance with ED summons in the liquor policy probe; detailed order is awaited
 "Delhi court acquits Kejriwal in ED summons cases linked to liquor policy")
A Delhi court on Thursday acquitted former Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal in cases linked to alleged non-compliance with Enforcement Directorate (ED) summons in the liquor policy matter, LiveLaw reported.
Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Paras Dalal of the Rouse Avenue Courts delivered the verdict. The detailed order is yet to be released.
The Enforcement Directorate had approached the court, alleging that Kejriwal deliberately failed to comply with summons issued to him in a money laundering investigation related to the alleged excise policy scam.
According to the agency, there was “wilful non-compliance” on Kejriwal’s part, as he did not appear before investigators despite repeated notices.
Why the Enforcement Directorate filed criminal complaints against Kejriwal
The Enforcement Directorate had filed two separate criminal complaints against Kejriwal, accusing him of not joining the probe despite being summoned.
The agency said Kejriwal skipped summons issued on November 2 and December 21, 2023, and January 3 and January 18, 2024. Kejriwal had termed these summons “illegal”.
Kejriwal was arrested by the ED on March 21, 2024. He was granted bail by vacation judge Niyay Bindu of the Rouse Avenue Courts on June 20, 2024. However, after the Enforcement Directorate challenged the bail order, the Delhi High Court stayed it.
In July 2024, the Supreme Court granted Kejriwal interim bail and referred his plea challenging the ED arrest to a larger Bench.
What the ED has alleged in the liquor policy case
The Enforcement Directorate has alleged that the Delhi excise policy was implemented as part of a conspiracy to ensure a 12 per cent profit margin for certain private wholesale liquor companies. The agency claimed this condition was not recorded in the minutes of meetings of the Group of Ministers (GoM).
It also alleged that the conspiracy was coordinated by Vijay Nair along with other individuals and the so-called South Group to provide unusually high profit margins to wholesalers.
According to the agency, Nair was acting on behalf of Kejriwal and former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia.
What is the background of the case
The Enforcement Directorate’s money laundering investigation is based on a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) case registered on August 17, 2022, over alleged irregularities in the Delhi Excise Policy for 2021-22.
The CBI case followed a complaint by Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena on July 20, 2022. The Enforcement Directorate later registered its case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act on August 22, 2022.
Kejriwal was later arrested in the main excise policy case and was eventually granted bail by the Supreme Court.