Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal granted bail in Excise policy case
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A Delhi court granted bail to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in two complaints filed by the Enforcement Directorate related to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam on Saturday. Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Divya Malhotra of Rouse Avenue Courts granted bail to Kejriwal on a bail bond of ₹15,000 and a surety of ₹1 lakh in two cases filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
The court stated, "Offence being bailable, accused Arvind Kejriwal is admitted to bail," and directed the ED to provide documents related to the complaints to Kejriwal.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed two complaints before the magisterial court, seeking Kejriwal’s prosecution for skipping multiple summonses issued to him in the case.
The complaint was regarding the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor failing to comply with summonses 4 to 8 issued by the federal probe agency under Section 50 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The Chief Minister of Delhi has decided not to attend the ED summons, accusing the central government of targeting opposition leaders through central agencies. In late February, the ED sent a summons requesting Kejriwal's presence for questioning on March 4. However, the Chief Minister called the summons "illegal" and said he would only participate through video conferencing. In response, the ED has emphasized the importance of Kejriwal's physical presence, stating that there is no provision for virtual questioning.
The ED had also previously petitioned the magisterial court to prosecute Kejriwal for failing to appear at the first three summonses issued to him in the money laundering case linked to the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy.