Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal skipped the summons issued against him by the Enforcement Directorate, which sought his presence on Wednesday in the excise policy case. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) said that it was illegal and intended to arrest him ahead of elections. Kejriwal mentioned that he is busy with preparations for the Rajya Sabha elections and is ready to respond to any questionnaire from the Enforcement Directorate. The AAP convener also urged the agency to address his earlier letters, in which he sought clarification on the “real intent, ambit, nature, sweep, and scope of the purported inquiry/investigation for which I am being called.

This is the third time Kejriwal has refused to appear before the investigators who seek his statement in the excise policy scam case, where the Delhi Government has been accused of tailoring the policy for the benefit of a select few businessmen and seeking bribes in return. Two earlier summons issued by the agency were for his appearance on November 2 and December 21 of last year.

Lambasting Kejriwal and his Jharkhand counterpart Hemant Soren for repeatedly skipping the ED summons, the BJP asserted that every “corrupt leader” will be “punished” for their misdeeds under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rule. The party also questioned why Kejriwal did not approach the courts if he felt the action against him was politically motivated.

In his letter addressed to the Assistant Director, Directorate of Enforcement, Kejriwal referenced the two previous summonses issued by the ED on October 30, 2023, and December 10, 2023, as well as the latest one issued on December 22, 2023, asking him to appear in person on January 3, 2024. Expressing deep concern over the lack of response to the queries raised by him in his reply to the summons issued on two previous occasions, the Chief Minister said that the ED official chose to issue another summons on December 22, 2023, in a mechanical way.

“It is a matter of concern that despite my comprehensive response(s) bringing to your notice critical dimensions and legal objections involved in issuing summons to me to appear ‘in person’ in your purported exercise of powers under Section 50 of Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, you have chosen not to respond. Therefore, I reiterate that the summons are motivated and issued for vexatious considerations,” he said.

In his response to the summons, he SAID, “Your silence on the aforementioned critical aspects leads me to infer that you are maintaining unwarranted secrecy and are being opaque and arbitrary in the present matter.” Kejriwal had previously declined to appear before the federal agency on two summonses for November 2 and December 21, labelling the notices as “illegal” and “politically motivated.”

According to ED officials, an individual can ignore an ED summons three times. Since Kejriwal has now exhausted this allowance, the ED can seek a non-bailable warrant (NBW), compelling his appearance before a court. Failure to comply with an NBW may lead to arrest and subsequent court proceedings. “The Delhi Chief Minister maintains that he is prepared to cooperate with the agency but questions the timing and urgency of the summons. Kejriwal’s refusal to appear before the ED on two previous occasions has escalated the tension between the AAP and the investigative agency,” officials said.

“Kejriwal has at least two legal avenues available to him. He can move to court to challenge the summons, asserting his rights and seeking clarity on the allegations. Additionally, he can opt for anticipatory bail, a legal mechanism to safeguard against arrest while an investigation is underway,” officials added.

Citing the election to three Rajya Sabha seats from Delhi, where the terms of office of the incumbents will expire on January 27, 2024, he said, “Being National Convener of the Aam Aadmi Party, I am held up in the process and run up to these critical elections.”

“Being the Chief Minister of Delhi, I am also quite occupied in planning and preparations for several programmes and functions for the Republic Day i.E., 26th January 2024,” he said.

Kejriwal said he “would be happy to respond to any questionnaire” if the agency seeks any information or documents, which are in his knowledge or possession.  Former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia and AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh are in judicial custody following their arrest in the Delhi excise policy-related money laundering probe.

Questioning the timing of the ED summons, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Wednesday said the ED has still not answered in what capacity is Kejriwal was being summoned, as a witness or an accused, and alleged the entire excise policy case is politically motivated and an attempt to stop Kejriwal from campaigning for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

“It is a matter of concern that despite my comprehensive response(s) bringing to your notice critical dimensions and legal objections involved in issuing summons to me to appear ‘in person’ in your purported exercise of powers under Section 50 of Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA), you have chosen not to respond,” Kejriwal said in the reply.

The AAP national convener said that he knew about several cases where the ED has given a detailed explanation or response to any of the queries raised or apprehensions nursed by a person who may have been issued summons under Section 50 of the PMLA.  “But in my case, you have refused to even acknowledge the receipt of the detailed submissions made in response to the summons issued to me,” he said.

“In my earlier responses and now again, I reiterate my firm commitment to the rule of law and my unflinching undertaking to render any cooperation or assistance in any inquiry or investigations that may be as per law, fair, just and expedient.”  “However, as stated above, your silence confirms my apprehensions about certain vested interests and extraneous as well as malafide considerations prevailing over any objective, rational, fair or impartial inquiry or investigations,” his reply read. After he was issued the second summons in December, the chief minister left on his pre-announced programme of a 10-day ‘Vipassana’ meditation course and returned on December 30.