A Delhi court on Thursday acquitted former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in two cases filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for allegedly failing to appear before the agency in connection with the Delhi excise policy probe.
DON'T MISS
Delhi excise policy probe
The order was passed by Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Paras Dalal at the Rouse Avenue Courts. The ED had moved the court in February 2024, seeking action against Kejriwal for non-compliance with summons issued under Section 50 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The agency claimed that Kejriwal did not appear despite being summoned on five occasions during the course of its investigation.
Court acquits Arvind Kejriwal in ED summons case
The money laundering probe originated from a case registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on August 17, 2022, concerning alleged irregularities in the Delhi excise policy for the year 2021–22. The CBI case was based on a complaint filed by Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena on July 20, 2022.
Following the CBI’s FIR, the ED registered a separate case on August 22, 2022, to investigate the alleged money laundering aspects linked to the policy. Investigating agencies have alleged that irregularities were committed during modifications to the excise policy and that undue benefits were extended to certain licence holders.
Kejriwal was later arrested in the main excise policy case and remained in judicial custody for several months. He was eventually granted bail by the Supreme Court, which allowed him temporary and later regular relief while the trial continues.
The Delhi excise policy was scrapped in 2022 after the Lieutenant Governor ordered a CBI probe into alleged corruption and procedural lapses in its formulation and implementation. The case remains one of the most politically sensitive investigations involving a sitting chief minister.
