Delhi HC is today hearing Kejriwal’s plea against ED summons in an excise case

The Delhi High Court will hear Prime Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s legal challenge against Enforcement Directorate (ED) summons related to a money laundering probe related to excise policy. The development, scheduled for April 22, comes in the wake of Kejriwal’s arrest by the agency on March 21 after the Supreme Court denied interim protection from coercive action.

The crux of Kejriwal’s petition is to question the constitutional validity of specific provisions within the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, particularly relating to arrest, interrogation and bail. The hearing will be monitored by a bench comprising Justice Suresh Kumar Kait and Justice Manoj Jain. Kejriwal initiated legal proceedings after receiving the ninth summons from the ED, mandating his appearance on March 21.

The court on March 20 directed the ED to respond regarding the enforceability of Kejriwal’s petition. Despite Kejriwal’s plea for protection from arrest, the court rejected an interim order ‘at this stage’. Consequently, Kejriwal was arrested by the ED later that day and is currently under judicial custody.

The ED has alleged that persons associated with Kejriwal were involved in formulating the now-defunct excise policy, under which they were allegedly granted undue benefits in return for kickbacks addressed to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). Kejriwal’s petition raises several concerns, including the applicability of anti-money laundering laws to political parties. It argues that the arbitrary procedures outlined in the PMLA are being exploited to distort the electoral landscape at the national level in favor of the ruling party.

The petition describes Kejriwal as a prominent critic of the ruling party and member of the INDIA bloc and suggests that the ED, operating under the aegis of the Union government, has been ‘weaponized’ for political purposes. This complex legal battle not only focuses on the specifics of Kejriwal’s case, but also delves into broader questions regarding the intersection of law, politics and governance in India.