Delhi Excise Policy: Court Grants Extension for Arvind Kejriwal’s Rejoinder to ED’s Reply

Delhi’s Rouse Avenue court on Friday granted the counsel for Arvind Kejriwal an extension to file a rejoinder concerning the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) response.

Senior advocate representing Kejriwal stated their inability to provide instructions due to his arrest by the ED. The agency had already submitted a reply to Kejriwal’s plea seeking the supply of deficient documents filed with the complaint.

The Judge

Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) Divya Malhotra, after hearing the arguments of senior advocate Ramesh Gupta and ASG S V Raju, allowed time for filing the rejoinder and scheduled the matter for May 4.

Senior Advocate Ramesh Gupta, appearing for Kejriwal, highlighted their inability to obtain instructions due to his arrest. Gupta mentioned Kejriwal’s involvement in 30 litigation cases nationwide but expressed hindrance in conducting legal interviews due to ED intervention. ASG S V Raju, via video conferencing, noted that the jail manual permits two legal interviews and suggested seeking additional time.

Gupta emphasized the challenge of filing a reply without a legal interview with Kejriwal and criticized ED’s persistent opposition to Kejriwal’s applications. Following the submissions, the Court set the date for filing the rejoinder on May 4.

Initial Stage

On March 16, the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate at Rouse Avenue Court granted bail to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on two complaints filed by the ED for non-compliance with summonses. Kejriwal physically appeared before the court during the hearing. ACMM Divya Malhotra granted bail, considering the bailable nature of the Section, and directed Kejriwal to furnish Rs 15,000 for each complaint.

ASG S V Raju, along with Zoheb Hossain and Simon Benjamin, represented the ED, while Senior Advocate Ramesh Gupta, along with Advocate Rajiv Mohan, Mohd Irshad, Mudit Jain, and Samprikta Ghosal, appeared for Arvind Kejriwal.

Earlier, it was argued that Kejriwal had responded to every notice from the Directorate of Enforcement, yet the ED continued issuing notices under Sections 50 PMLA despite knowing the reasons for his non-appearance.

ED Complaints

On March 14, Kejriwal moved the Sessions Court to challenge summonses issued by the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate in the ED complaints regarding non-compliance with summonses in the Delhi liquor policy money laundering case. Kejriwal claimed no intentional disobedience and sought a stay on proceedings before the ACMM.

The ACMM had taken cognizance of the ED’s second complaint and issued fresh summonses to Kejriwal for his personal appearance on March 16, 2024. The ED lodged a second complaint for alleged non-compliance with summonses in the Delhi liquor policy money laundering case.

The Enforcement Directorate filed a second complaint against Arvind Kejriwal under various sections for non-attendance in compliance with Section 50, PMLA, 2002. Earlier, the ED had filed a complaint against Kejriwal, leading to summonses being issued.

In the first complaint, the Rouse Avenue Court, on February 7, 2024, took cognizance of the ED’s complaint against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for non-compliance with summonses in the Delhi liquor policy money laundering case.

The ED sought to record Kejriwal’s statement regarding the policy formulation, pre-finalization meetings, and bribery allegations. In its sixth charge sheet, the ED claimed that AAP used kickbacks from the policy for its Goa assembly election campaign in 2022.

The policy aimed to revitalize Delhi’s liquor business, replacing sales-volume-based regimes with a trader license fee, introducing discounts and offers. Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena’s probe into alleged irregularities prompted the policy’s cancellation. The AAP accused Saxena’s predecessor, Anil Baijal, of sabotaging the policy with last-minute changes, leading to lower revenues.

On February 26, Sisodia, the then Delhi Deputy Chief Minister, was arrested by the CBI, and on October 5, 2023, the ED arrested Sanjay Singh, an AAP leader and Rajya Sabha member.

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