Liquor policy case: ED moves Delhi HC challenging Kejriwal’s acquittal in complaints over non-compliance with summons
New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has moved the Delhi High Court challenging a trial court order acquitting Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor and former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in cases related to alleged non-compliance with summons in connection with the excise policy money laundering case.
As per the causelist published on the official website, the plea is slated to be heard on Wednesday by a single-judge Bench of Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma.
The federal anti-money laundering agency’s appeal comes against the backdrop of the acquittal granted by the Rouse Avenue Court in complaint cases filed by the ED, which had accused Kejriwal of deliberately skipping multiple summons issued under Section 50 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
Earlier, Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (ACJM) Paras Dalal had acquitted Kejriwal in the said complaints, holding that the material on record did not warrant his prosecution for non-compliance.
The ED had alleged that despite the issuance of five summons on different dates, Kejriwal failed to appear before the Central agency, prompting it to initiate prosecution proceedings. It had contended that non-compliance by a high public functionary would set a wrong precedent.
During earlier proceedings before the Delhi High Court, the ED had indicated its intention to challenge the acquittal after Kejriwal withdrew his plea questioning the summons issued to him.
The present development also assumes significance in view of parallel proceedings arising out of the Delhi excise policy case.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has already approached the Delhi High Court challenging a trial court order discharging all 23 accused, including Kejriwal and former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, in the corruption case linked to the now-scrapped excise policy.
The trial court, in a detailed order, had held that the prosecution failed to establish even a prima facie case and that the material on record did not give rise to any grave suspicion against the accused.
Meanwhile, Kejriwal has moved the Supreme Court challenging the decision of the Delhi High Court Chief Justice declining his request to transfer the hearing of the CBI’s plea from the Bench of Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma.
In his writ petition, Kejriwal has contended that the refusal to reassign the matter raises a reasonable apprehension regarding the impartiality of the proceedings. He has also filed a Special Leave Petition (SLP) against certain observations made by Justice Sharma while hearing the CBI’s revision plea.
Notably, the Delhi High Court had recently stayed adverse remarks made by the trial court against a CBI officer and the investigating agency while issuing notice on the CBI’s revision plea challenging the discharge of the accused in the excise policy case.