Hindustan Times (Ranchi)

Delhi HC refuses to grant Kejriwal protection in ED case

-

The Delhi high court on Thursday refused to grant chief minister Arvind Kejriwal any protection from coercive action in an excise policylink­ed money laundering case.

A bench of Justices Suresh Kumar Kait and Manoj Jain listed the AAP leader’s applicatio­n seeking protection for further considerat­ion on April 22 when his main petition challengin­g the summons is fixed for hearing.

“We have heard both sides and we are not inclined at this stage (to grant protection). The respondent is at liberty to file reply,” the bench said.

The applicatio­n for interim relief forms part of Kejriwal’s petition challengin­g the Enforcemen­t Directorat­e’s summonses issued to him for questionin­g.

Kejriwal has moved the court in the wake of the latest summons, the ninth issued by the ED, asking him to appear before it on Thursday.

During the hearing, the senKejriwa­l ior counsel for the AAP chief also sought deferment of the summons issued for Thursday.

“It is already over. Time is over. He is not attending,” Additional Solicitor General S V Raju, appearing for the ED, said. has repeatedly refused to appear before the federal anti-money laundering agency, calling the summonses illegal.

The case pertains to alleged corruption and money laundering while formulatin­g and executing the Delhi government’s excise policy for 2021-22, which was later scrapped.

AAP leaders Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh are in judicial custody in the case. Kejriwal’s name has been mentioned multiple times in the charge sheets filed by the ED. The agency has alleged that the other accused were in touch with Kejriwal for formulatin­g the excise policy that resulted in undue benefits to them in return for which they paid kickbacks to the AAP.

We have heard both sides and we are not inclined at this stage. The respondent is at liberty to file reply. HIGH COURT

 ?? HT ?? Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal had moved the court in the wake of the latest ED summons, asking him to appear on Thursday.
HT Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal had moved the court in the wake of the latest ED summons, asking him to appear on Thursday.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from India