News Brief
Arvind Kejriwal Summoned For Sixth Time By Enforcement Directorate In Liquor Policy Case, Has To Appear Before Delhi Court Also
Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal. (via Getty Images)
Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) national convener Arvind Kejriwal was issued a sixth summons by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday (14 February) in the liquor excise policy case.
The central investigative agency has asked him to appear on 19 February after Kejriwal skipped the five summons issued earlier. A complaint was also filed by the ED at a Delhi court against Kejriwal for skipping the summons.
In response, the court has asked him to appear on 17 February to explain why he did so. The ED had asserted that being a public servant, Kejriwal cannot ignore its orders.
Kejriwal was first summoned in October 2023 and since then has cited various reasons for his non-appearance, including governance-related work in Delhi, a Vipassana session, Rajya Sabha elections, Republic Day celebrations, and a pre-scheduled program in Goa.
The ED has already arrested three senior AAP leaders — former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh, and AAP communications in-charge Vijay Nair — in connection with the same case.
However, Kejriwal didn't appear before the agency calling ED summons "illegal". The AAP chief had been questioned by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with the case in April but had not been made an accused by the agency.
Kejriwal maintains that the summons he received are "motivated", expressing confusion as to whether he is being summoned as a witness or a suspect in the case.
His party has suggested that this is a strategy to prevent him from participating in the upcoming national election campaign.
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