The Delhi High Court on Wednesday issued a fresh notice to Arvind Kejriwal in response to petitions filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) challenging his acquittal in cases related to alleged non-compliance with summons in the now-scrapped excise policy matter.
Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma observed that the earlier notice had not been served on Kejriwal. “Registry reports that he has not been served. I will issue a fresh notice,” the court said, listing the matter for hearing on July 22.
The ED informed the court that a notice had been issued on April 1, but no one appeared on behalf of Kejriwal. The cases stem from complaints filed by the agency before a trial court, alleging that the Aam Aadmi Party chief deliberately failed to respond to repeated summons during the investigation into the excise policy.
According to the ED, Kejriwal intentionally avoided joining the probe and raised what it described as “frivolous objections” to evade questioning.
Earlier, the trial court had acquitted Kejriwal, stating that the ED failed to prove deliberate non-compliance. It noted that the agency could not establish valid service of summons via email or demonstrate that such service met the legal requirements under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
Challenging this decision, the ED argued before the high court that the trial court committed a “grave error,” maintaining that there was no dispute regarding the issuance and receipt of summons, despite which Kejriwal did not appear.
Kejriwal is currently on interim bail in a related money laundering case. Meanwhile, broader legal questions regarding the necessity of arrest under the PMLA have been referred by the Supreme Court of India to a larger bench.
