Arvind Kejriwal will not have to appear in court when the case next comes up for hearing on April 1
New Delhi:
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who was arrested for skipping summons of the investigating agency in the alleged Delhi consumer policy scam, has been granted bail by the Raus Avenue court in Delhi. He was asked to pay a personal bond of Rs 15,000 and bail of Rs 1 lakh.
The Delhi Chief Minister violated Section 174 of the Indian Penal Code – which deals with disobeying a legal order in person or by an agent at a place – by failing to accept multiple summons from the Enforcement Directorate in the alleged Delhi Excise Policy scam.
The Enforcement Directorate, which wants to question Mr Kejriwal in the Delhi excise policy case, told the court that the AAP chief was summoned after the chief minister skipped eight summons issued under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
Arvind Kejriwal does not have to appear in person for the next hearing in the case on April 1.
Kejriwal skipped the education ministry’s summons and accused the Narendra Modi government of using central agencies to target opposition leaders.
The latest summons from the ED was issued at the end of February, requiring the chief minister to appear in court on March 4 for questioning. However, Mr Kejriwal, who skipped the “unlawful” summons, said he would appear in court only through video conferencing.
But the financial investigative agency insisted he must appear in person and said it would not offer virtual hearings.
Senior leaders of the AAP – former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and Union Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh – have been implicated in money laundering related to Delhi’s now-defunct GST policy He was arrested by the Ministry of Education in the case.
Mr. Kejriwal’s name appears several times in the ED’s chargesheet. The agency said the accused in the case were in touch with the chief minister while drafting the excise policy.
