Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal
Credit: PTI Photo
New Delhi: After he skipped its summons for the fifth time, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday approached a court here against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to enforce his attendance in connection with the questioning in a money laundering case linked to the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy.
The agency filed the complaint before Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Divya Malhotra. The court has put up the matter for further hearing on February 7.
"Fresh complaint case for non-attendance in compliance of Section 50, PMLA, 2002, received by way of assignment...This is a fresh complaint case. Submissions heard. Put up for remaining submissions/consideration on February 7, 2024," the judge said.
Section 50 of The Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 deals with the powers of authorities regarding summons, production of documents and to give evidence, etc. This section allows the ED to enforce the attendance of any person.
Claiming that the ED summons was "illegal", Kejriwal has refused to appear before the investigators while alleging that the agency was acting under the directions of the Narendra Modi government to target him and prevent him from campaigning in the Lok Sabha elections.
The latest summons had asked him to appear before the agency on Friday. He refused this time too even as he attended a protest by the AAP. Earlier he was summoned on November 2 and December 21 last year and January 3 and January 18 this year.