Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday approached the Delhi High Court, challenging a trial court order that acquitted former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in two cases related to his alleged non-compliance with summonses issued in the excise policy case probe.
The agency has contested the trial court’s January 22 orders, which cleared Kejriwal of charges of deliberately disobeying ED summons. The appeal is scheduled to be heard on Wednesday by Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma.
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The ED’s move comes a little over a month after a Delhi court discharged Kejriwal, former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, and 21 others in the high-profile liquor policy case by the CBI. The court held that the CBI had failed to establish a prima facie case against the AAP leaders, dismissing the prosecution’s “criminal conspiracy” theory as conjectural and based on unreliable witness statements.
In its latest plea, the ED alleged that Kejriwal, while serving as Chief Minister of Delhi, deliberately avoided appearing before the agency despite repeated summonses. It claimed he raised “frivolous objections” to evade participation in the investigation.
However, the trial court ruled that the ED failed to prove intentional disobedience of summons, leading to his acquittal in both cases.
The ED has further alleged that other accused in the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy case were in contact with Kejriwal during its formulation, resulting in undue benefits to certain entities and alleged kickbacks to the Aam Aadmi Party.
While he was acquitted in the CBI case, Kejriwal is currently on interim bail in a related money laundering case by the ED. The Supreme Court has referred questions regarding the “need and necessity of arrest” under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to a larger bench for detailed consideration.
The CBI’s challenge to the discharge order of Kejriwal is currently pending before the Delhi High Court.
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SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
