ED summons Arvind Kejriwal for third time for questioning in Delhi excise policy scam case

Delhi excise policy scam case: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has sent its third summons to Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal. The ED has asked the Delhi chief minister to appear before the investigative agency on January 3 for questioning in the Delhi excise policy scam case. 

This is the third notice to Arvind Kejriwal, also the national convenor of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), after he refused to appear before the federal agency on two earlier summons for November 2 and December 21.

Arvind Kejriwal was first called by the ED on November 2, but Arvind Kejriwal did not depose before the agency, saying the summons was "vague, motivated and unsustainable in law". He, instead, decided to hold an election roadshow in Madhya Pradesh ahead of the polls.

The AAP convenor was again called on November 21. 

The Delhi chief minister is currently undertaking a Vipassana meditation course.

While refusing to depose on the second summons, Arvind Kejriwal wrote to the investigating officer of the case that the notice issued against him for personal appearance was "not in consonance with the law" and it should be withdrawn.

In response to a summons from the central probe agency, Arvind Kejriwal questioned the legality of the summons and demanded the ED to withdraw the notice. Arvind Kejriwal also alleged that the ED notice was “politically motivated" to stop him from campaigning in the upcoming elections.

The Delhi liquor scam case or the excise policy case pertains to allegations that the Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government's excise policy for 2021-22 allowed cartelisation and favoured certain dealers who had allegedly paid bribes for it, a charge that has been strongly refuted by the AAP.

The ED, last year filed its first chargesheet in the case. The agency said it has so far undertaken over 200 search operations in this case after filing an FIR after taking cognizance of a CBI case which was registered on the recommendation of the Delhi lieutenant governor.

The CBI inquiry was recommended on the findings of the Delhi chief secretary's report filed in July showing prima facie violations of the GNCTD Act 1991, Transaction of Business Rules (ToBR)-1993, Delhi Excise Act-2009, and Delhi Excise Rules-2010.

The ED had earlier claimed that AAP's Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh and his associates played a part in the Delhi government's decision to give licences to alcohol shops and merchants in 2020, causing losses to the state exchequer and violating anti-corruption laws.

The ED has previously searched a number of locations including the homes and offices of Sanjay Singh's close associate Ajit Tyagi and other contractors and businessmen who allegedly benefited from the policy. In its nearly 270-page supplementary charge sheet, the ED has called former deputy chief minister of Delhi Manish Sisodia a key conspirator in the case.