A Delhi Court has declined to grant interim relief to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in response to two summoning orders issued by a magisterial court. These orders were related to complaints filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) regarding alleged non-compliance with summons in the alleged liquor policy scam.Special CBI Judge Rakesh Syal of Rouse Avenue Courts rejected Kejriwals request for an interim stay in his revision petitions against the summoning orders. The court stated that the appeal has been rejected and Kerjriwal can move to the trial courts for further immunity. Kejriwal had challenged two summoning orders issued by the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) court in response to complaints filed by the ED. The agency accused Kejriwal of failing to comply with summons issued to him in connection with a money laundering case.Sessions Court of Rouse Avenue Court refuses to stay summons issued to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on the basis of complaints filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).Kejriwal has challenged the summons issued by the Magistrate court after taking cognizance of two… pic.twitter.com/HjwNATqpyF— ANI (@ANI) March 15, 2024The ACMM court had directed Kejriwal to appear before it on March 16.Senior Advocate Ramesh Gupta and Advocate Rajiv Mohan represented Kejriwal, while ASG SV Raju along with special counsel Zoheb Hossain represented the ED. Kejriwal has received a total of eight summons in the case so far.ED initially filed a complaint case against him for not adhering to the first three summons issued. Subsequently, a fresh complaint was filed alleging non-compliance with the remaining summons.Why has Kejriwal refused to appear for Court summonsKejriwal has refused to appear for the summons, arguing that they are illegal. However, he recently informed the ED that he could be questioned via videoconferencing after March 12.The fresh complaint case filed by the ED includes charges under various sections of the Criminal Procedure Code, the Indian Penal Code, and the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, of 2002.Aam Aadmi Party leaders Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh have already been arrested in connection with the money laundering case and are currently in judicial custody.What are allegations of EDThe EDs allegations center around the implementation of an excise policy allegedly designed to benefit certain private companies with a 12 percent profit margin, although this was not documented in the official minutes of meetings. The agency also claims there was a conspiracy orchestrated by individuals including Vijay Nair, acting on behalf of Kejriwal and Sisodia, to provide substantial profit margins to wholesalers.
