The Delhi High Court is scheduled to hear Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s petition challenging the summonses issued by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with its investigation into a money laundering case linked to an excise policy.
Kejriwal, who was arrested by the agency on March 21 after the high court declined to grant him interim protection, has also contested the constitutional validity of certain provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) pertaining to arrest, questioning, and bail.
The hearing is set before the bench of Justice Suresh Kumar Kait and Justice Manoj Jain.
Kejriwal, the national convenor of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), approached the high court after receiving the ninth summons from the ED, which required him to appear before the agency on March 21. On March 20, the high court instructed the ED to submit its response regarding the maintainability of the petition.
The following day, the court directed the ED to address Kejriwal’s plea seeking protection from arrest, stating that, “at this stage,” it was not inclined to grant interim relief. Subsequently, Kejriwal was arrested by the ED later that evening and is currently in judicial custody.
According to the federal probe agency, the accused were allegedly in contact with Kejriwal regarding the formulation of the now-defunct excise policy, which resulted in undue benefits for them in exchange for kickbacks to the AAP.
In his plea, Kejriwal has raised various issues, including whether a political party falls under the purview of the anti-money laundering law. The plea also alleges that the arbitrary procedures under the PMLA are being used to manipulate the electoral process in favor of the ruling party at the Centre.
Describing the petitioner as a “vocal critic” of the ruling party and a member of the INDIA bloc, the plea asserts that the ED, under the control of the Union government, has been “weaponised.”
(with PTI inputs)
