A Delhi court on Thursday summoned Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to appear before it on a fresh plea filed by the Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday, in connection with the Delhi liquor policy case, reported Bar and Bench.
The central law enforcement agency said that the Aam Aadmi Party leader has not appeared before it for questioning despite eight summons being issued to him since November 2, Bar & Bench reported.
Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Divya Malhotra of the Rouse Avenue Court directed Kejriwal to be present in the court on March 16.
Kejriwal was summoned by the central agency on February 27 for the eighth time and asked to appear before it on March 4, which he failed to do. He had skipped the agency’s seventh summons on February 26. Kejriwal and the Aam Aadmi Party have said that the summons are “illegal” and “politically motivated”.
The central agency filed its first plea in the matter before the Rouse Avenue Court on February 3, after Kejriwal skipped the fifth summons issued to him.
Kejriwal appeared before the court via video conferencing on February 17. He submitted that he could not be present in person because of a trust vote motion tabled in the Delhi Assembly and the Assembly Budget Session that was underway at the time.
The court exempted him from appearing in person and listed the matter on March 16.
Liquor policy case
The Enforcement Directorate’s case is based on a first information report registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation alleging irregularities in the Delhi government’s liquor excise policy, which has been scrapped.
The policy came into effect in November 2021. It was withdrawn on July 30, 2022, with Delhi Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena recommending an investigation into the alleged irregularities of the policy.
The Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate have alleged that the Aam Aadmi Party government modified Delhi’s liquor excise policy to ensure a 12% profit margin for wholesalers and a nearly 185% profit margin for retailers.
The Enforcement Directorate has also claimed that members of a so-called South Group had paid at least Rs 100 crore in kickbacks to leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party through businessman Vijay Nair, who is currently in jail.
Two senior Aam Aadmi Party leaders – Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh – are also currently in jail in connection with the case.
Also read: A ‘liquor scam’ has put AAP leaders in jail. But has it dented the party’s image in Delhi?
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