Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court Summons CM Arvind Kejriwal on March 16 following the Enforcement Directorate's fresh Complaint

Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court on Thursday issued a new summons to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, mandating his physical presence on March 16. This comes after the Enforcement Directorate filed a fresh complaint seeking legal action against the AAP leader for non-compliance to the central agency’s summons.

The Enforcement Directorate lodged a complaint against Kejriwal at Delhi's Rouse Avenue Court, accusing him of non-compliance with its summonses in connection with the Delhi excise policy case. Kejriwal has received eight summonses from the ED regarding the case. The recent complaint highlights Kejriwal's failure to adhere to summonses 4 to 8 issued by the federal investigative agency under Section 50 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Arvind Kejriwal on Monday had stated that he would participate in questioning by the Enforcement Directorate through video conferencing on a date after March 12, following his absence from eight consecutive summons related to the alleged irregularities in the Delhi excise policy case. Despite being summoned for the eighth time on February 27 to appear before the ED on March 4, Kejriwal opted to skip the summons, citing the Delhi government's assembly session for presenting the budget. He asserted that while he considered the agency's summons to be "illegal", he intended to cooperate by attending the questioning session remotely after March 12.

The AAP Chief had skipped seven previous summons by the Enforcement Directorate, starting from November 2, 2023, calling them illegal and biased. Despite repeated summonses on December 28, January 3, January 18, February 2, February 19, and February 26, he did not appear. The ED lodged a complaint against Kejriwal's non-compliance, leading to a court hearing via video conferencing. The Rouse Avenue Court directed Kejriwal to appear in person on March 16. The Enforcement Directorate’s ongoing investigation focuses on the alleged irregularities in the Delhi excise policy, with AAP leaders Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh in custody in connection with the case.​