New Delhi: In a significant turn of events in the long-running Delhi Excise Policy case, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) informed the Delhi High Court on Thursday that it intends to challenge the acquittal of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supremo and former Delhi Chief Minister, Arvind Kejriwal. This development comes after a trial court recently cleared Kejriwal of charges related to "wilfully" skipping multiple summons issued by the central agency.
The matter was heard by a division bench comprising Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia. The court was informed of the ED’s decision to appeal just as Kejriwal’s legal team sought to withdraw a previous plea that had challenged the legality of those very summons.
The Core of the Dispute: Skipping the Summons
The controversy dates back to late 2023 and early 2024. Between November 2, 2023, and January 18, 2024, the Enforcement Directorate issued four separate summons to Arvind Kejriwal, asking him to join the investigation into the alleged money laundering side of the Delhi Liquor Policy scam.
Kejriwal, however, did not appear before the agency on any of those dates. Instead, he replied via letters, calling the summons "illegal," "politically motivated," and "vague." He argued that it was unclear whether he was being called as a witness or a suspect, and in what capacity—as the Chief Minister or as the National Convenor of AAP.
The ED did not take this lightly. The agency filed two formal criminal complaints against him at the Rouse Avenue Courts, alleging that his non-compliance was a deliberate attempt to obstruct a legal investigation under Section 174 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
On January 22, 2025, a trial court delivered a major win for Kejriwal by acquitting him in these cases. The court essentially found that the grounds for "wilful non-compliance" were not sufficiently established to warrant a criminal conviction.
This acquittal was the basis for Kejriwal’s counsel telling the Delhi High Court on Thursday: "We do not wish to press the plea challenging the summons further, as the trial court has already acquitted the leader in the cases registered for failing to appear."
With the underlying criminal complaints resulting in an acquittal, the challenge against the summons themselves became "infructuous" or redundant. The High Court allowed the withdrawal and dismissed the petition accordingly.
Representing the Enforcement Directorate, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) SV Raju made it clear that the agency does not accept the trial court’s acquittal. He informed the High Court that the ED is in the process of filing an appeal against the acquittal order.
The ED maintains that the Excise Policy was not just a policy failure but a deep-rooted conspiracy. The agency alleges that: