The Rouse Avenue Court on Wednesday ordered Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to appear before it on February 17 regarding a complaint filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for skipping summons in a case linked to the excise policy. The court noted that prima facie, the AAP chief was “legally bound” to comply.
Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Divya Malhotra said that Kejriwal “purportedly failed” to appear before the investigating agency, and summoned him for the offence under Section 174 of the IPC (non-attendance in obedience to an order from a public servant). In its complaint, the ED alleged that the Delhi Chief Minister intentionally avoided obeying the summons and kept providing “lame excuses”. The agency said that if a high-ranking public functionary like him disobeyed the law, it would “set a wrong example for the common man”.
From the contents of the complaint and the material placed on record, prima facie, an offence under Section 174 of the IPC is made out, and there are sufficient grounds for proceeding against accused Arvind Kejriwal... “Cognizance [of the complaint case] has been taken. Summons are ordered to be issued for February 17 for the offence under Section 174 of the IPC,” the court said.
Kejriwal can challenge the Rouse Avenue court order to stay it or can seek relief from personal appearance in the court and appear through a lawyer. The setback comes as Kejriwal is facing heat from the Delhi Crime Branch as well regarding his comment that the BJP tried to buy seven AAP MLAs. The Crime Branch asked the Delhi Chief Minister to provide evidence supporting his claims.
So far, Kejriwal has skipped five summons issued by the ED - on November 2, 2023, December 22, 2023, January 3, 2024, January 18, and February 2.
The CM was first summoned by the ED on November 2, but he skipped it, alleging that the notice was “vague, motivated, and unsustainable in law,” and instead flew to Singrauli in Madhya Pradesh to address a political rally.
The ED then called him for questioning on December 21; however, Kejriwal went for a 10-day Vipassana meditation course at a centre in Punjab’s Hoshiarpur district.
The AAP convener had earlier written to the ED, describing the summonses as “illegal and politically motivated”. He alleged that the summonses were aimed at preventing him from campaigning in elections.
“The respondent to the summonses, i.e., the proposed accused, was legally bound to attend in person in pursuance of the same but purportedly failed to do so,” the judge said.
The court passed the order on the complaint, which claimed that instead of appearing pursuant to the summons, “Kejriwal raised frivolous objections and deliberately created grounds which clearly show that he intentionally did not want to obey the summons. He kept on giving lame excuses which were not only frivolous but made with an intention to make out a false defense.”
In response to the development, AAP senior Leader and Delhi Cabinet Minister Atishi said that the party respects the court’s order and will present its stance on the case on the given date. They will highlight how the five summons from the ED are illegal and unlawful. The leader mentioned that these ED summons are part of a conspiracy to halt Kejriwal from campaigning in the Lok Sabha elections and to arrest him. By utilizing investigating agencies like the ED, the BJP aims to compel the Delhi CM to visit its investigating agency’s office and have him arrested.
“Firstly, we will inform the court that all five summons sent by the ED were 100 per cent illegal and unlawful. After receiving every summons from the ED, the Delhi Chief Minister responded to them in writing, detailing the illegal components of the summons. He posed various questions through his responses to the ED, but the investigating agency never replied. Additionally, despite issuing five summons, the ED could not substantiate the legality of its summons,” she said.
