Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has filed a petition in the Delhi High Court challenging all summons issued to him by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) regarding the Delhi Excise policy case. The court's division bench is set to hear the case on Wednesday, March 20. This comes after the ED, in an official statement on Monday, named Kejriwal for the first time in connection with the scam.
The ED's statement implicated BRS leader K Kavitha, who was arrested last week in connection with the scam, alleging that she conspired with top leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), including Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia, for favors related to the Delhi excise policy. The agency claimed that in exchange for these favors, Kavitha was involved in paying ₹100 crore to AAP leaders. Kavitha has been remanded to judicial custody till March 23.
The ED further stated that it has conducted searches at 245 locations across the country since the case's registration in 2022. It has also arrested 15 individuals, including former Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia, AAP leader Sanjay Singh, and several liquor businessmen. The agency has filed six charge sheets in the case and attached assets worth over ₹128 crore.
Responding to the ED's allegations, AAP criticized the agency, stating, "The ED doesn't have a single piece of evidence. If the matter is in court, then why is the ED not waiting? ED has become a political weapon of BJP. BJP wants to arrest Arvind Kejriwal at any cost. BJP is scared of Arvind Kejriwal."