Excise policy case: High Court again issues notice to Kejriwal on ED’s appeal, seeks reply, next hearing on April 29
Delhi High Court has once again issued a notice to Arvind Kejriwal on the petition of Enforcement Directorate (ED). During the hearing of the case on Wednesday, no one appeared in the court on behalf of Kejriwal, on which the court expressed displeasure and directed to issue the notice again. This order was given by the court of Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma. The court has fixed the next hearing of the case for February 29.
According to the information, ED had filed an appeal in the High Court against the lower court order in which Kejriwal was acquitted of alleged disregard of the summons issued by the agency. The court said in its order that “the defendant chose not to appear despite receiving advance notice. Issue a fresh notice.” The court also directed that the case be listed on April 29 and TCR (Trial Court Records) be called for.
Senior lawyer Zoheb Hussain, appearing for the ED, said that the trial court had made a serious mistake in acquitting Kejriwal. Hussain told the court that the fact of Kejriwal accepting the summons and not responding to it was undisputed, but despite this he was acquitted. He stressed that it has been made clear in several High Court and Supreme Court decisions that when there is no dispute on any document or fact, it is not required to be proved. Advocate Vivek Gurnani also appeared with him on behalf of ED. The court has now listed the matter for further hearing on this appeal on April 29.
What did ED say in the petition
The ED said in its complaint that Kejriwal deliberately did not comply with the summons and did not join the investigation. The agency alleges that the former Chief Minister raised baseless objections and presented such arguments so that he would not have to participate in the investigation process. On the contrary, the lower court had said in its judgment that the ED had failed to prove that Kejriwal knowingly flouted the summons. The High Court will now hear this appeal and take into consideration the arguments of the ED. The next hearing has been scheduled for April 29, in which the court is likely to rule on both Kejriwal’s absence and the ED’s arguments.
The ED has alleged that Kejriwal was in touch with other accused in the case and helped in drafting the now-repealed excise policy. ED says that in return they got undue favors and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) received bribes. In this case, Kejriwal is currently on interim bail in the money laundering case. At the same time, the Supreme Court has sent the aspects related to ‘need for arrest’ under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to a larger bench for in-depth deliberations.
Relief received in CBI case also
On February 27, the trial court acquitted Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and 21 other accused in the excise policy case. The court said in its judgment that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) case completely failed to stand judicial scrutiny and the allegations proved to be baseless. However, CBI has a petition pending in the High Court against this decision. The final legal decision in this matter will come only after the hearing of this petition.
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