Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supremo Arvind Kejriwal might skip the fourth summons issued by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday (18th January) as he is scheduled to leave for Goa for a three-day visit. ED had issued a summons to Kejriwal on 13th January, asking him to appear before it in connection with its probe into the money laundering allegations related to the Delhi excise policy case.
According to an official in the chief minister’s office, the Aam Aadmi Party leader is unlikely to attend ED’s summons because he is slated to visit Goa to meet with party workers and assess Lok Sabha election preparations. In response to a query from reporters at an event on Wednesday, Kejriwal replied, “We will act per the law.”
The Delhi Chief Minister had earlier skipped questioning on January 3 for the third time, claiming that the summons issued by the investigation agency were “illegal” and “politically motivated,” with the sole intent of arresting him.
Kejriwal had previously refused to appear before the investigation agency on two occasions, on November 2 and December 21, opting instead to campaign for assembly elections and attend a 10-day Vipassana meditation camp on the two respective occasions.
It is worth recalling that the initial summons was issued to CM Kejriwal in October of last year as part of an ongoing investigation into alleged money laundering related to the Delhi government’s liquor policy, which was withdrawn in July 2023 over allegations of corruption. Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh, both AAP leaders, were arrested in connection with the same scam by central probe agencies.
Delhi Excise Policy Scam
ED filed its first chargesheet in the case in 2022. The agency said it has so far undertaken over 200 search operations in this case following an FIR after taking cognisance of a CBI case that was registered on the recommendation of the Delhi lieutenant governor. The CBI inquiry was recommended based on the findings of the Delhi Chief Secretary’s report filed in July showing prima facie violations of the GNCTD Act 1991, Transaction of Business Rules (ToBR) 1993, Delhi Excise Act 2009, and Delhi Excise Rules 2010.
The liquor policy for 2021-22 was put into effect by the Delhi administration on 17th November 2021, however, it was cancelled at the end of September 2022 due to accusations of corruption. According to the agencies, the new regulation led to monopolisation and gave economic advantages to people who weren’t eligible for liquor licenses. Meanwhile, Manish Sisodia and the Delhi administration have denied any wrongdoing.
The now-scrapped excise regime, according to the ED, extended an incredibly high 12% profit margin for wholesalers and nearly 185% profit margin for retailers. Further, favours were extended through cartelisation.
