A Delhi court on Saturday granted bail to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on a complaint filed by the Enforcement Directorate after the Aam Aadmi Party leader skipped multiple summons issued to him in connection with the Delhi liquor policy case, reported The Hindu.
The Aam Aadmi Party leader physically appeared before the Rouse Avenue Court on Saturday as instructed by the court on two occassions.
A day earlier, the court had refused to stay two summons issued to Kejriwal by a magisterial court on March 7. Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Divya Malhotra had directed the chief minister to be present in the court on Saturday.
The Enforcement Directorate had approached the Rouse Avenue Court claiming that the Aam Aadmi Party leader had not appeared before it for questioning despite eight summons issued to him since November 2.
The Aam Aadmi Party leader had sought an interim stay against the summons. However, Additional Sessions Judge Rakesh Syal on Friday directed Kejriwal to approach the metropolitan magistrate with his request for an exemption from deposing before the Enforcement Directorate.
Kejriwal’s revision petitions against the summons will be heard next on March 30.
On Saturday, the additional chief metropolitan magistrate asked Kejriwal to furnish a personal bond of ₹ 15,000 and a security bond of ₹1 lakh for his release on bail, Live Law reported.
The next hearing of the case has been listed for April 1.
The Aam Aadmi Party leader was summoned by the Enforcement Directorate 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 had 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 had then 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.
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