ED issues fresh summons to Arvind Kejriwal for Delhi Jal Board probe; AAP's Atishi calls ‘fake case’

AAP leader and Delhi Minister Atishi on Sunday said that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to join some investigation related to Delhi Jal Board.

Meanwhile, ED has issued a summon to Kejriwal for tomorrow under section 50 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act in the Delhi Jal Board case, ANI reported. ED is probing illegal tendering in Delhi Jal Board and laundering of alleged proceeds of crime.

During a press conference, Atishi said, “Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal received another summon yesterday evening by the ED...They have asked him to join some investigation related to Delhi Jal Board...We are unaware of the case registered by the ED in this matter...Arvind Kejriwal has been summoned in this fake case.”

Earlier on Saturday, Kejriwal was granted bail by Delhi's Rouse Avenue court against arrest for skipping probe agency summons in the alleged Delhi excise policy scam.

Atishi further noted, “Nobody knows about this Delhi Jal Board matter...These summons are being sent because PM Modi has started doubting whether they will be able to arrest Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal in the Excise matter case...A backup plan is being initiated to arrest Arvind Kejriwal.”

Soon after, Union Minister VK Singh on Saturday said that the case would not be resolved until the truth was revealed. "Liquor scam is a big scam in Delhi which is being investigated by the ED, and I think this matter will not be solved until the truth comes out," Union Minister VK Singh told ANI.

ACMM Divya Malhotra granted bail to Arvind Kejriwal, noting that Section 174 of the Indian Penal Code is bailable. Kejriwal was directed to furnish ₹15,000 in both complaint cases.

Additional Solicitor General S V Raju, along with Zoheb Hossain and Simon Benjamin, appeared for the ED, while Senior Advocate Ramesh Gupta, along with Advocate Rajiv Mohan, Mohd Irshad, Mudit Jain, and Samprikta Ghosal, represented Arvind Kejriwal. The Delhi CM was granted bail on a bail bond of ₹15,000 and a surety of ₹1 lakh.

On Friday, the Rouse Avenue Court reversed a decision regarding the stay of summons served to Kejriwal concerning complaints lodged by the ED.

Kejriwal contested the summons issued by the court, which had taken cognizance of two complaints filed by the ED, seeking to avoid appearing before it. The ED expressed its intention to record Kejriwal's statement regarding matters such as policy formulation, pre-finalization meetings, and allegations of bribery.

(With inputs from ANI)