The Delhi High Court is set to hear Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's petition on Monday, which challenges the summonses issued by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). These summonses are part of the agency's investigation into a case of alleged money laundering linked to an excise policy.
Following his arrest by the agency on March 21, despite the high court's denial of interim protection, Kejriwal has further challenged the constitutionality of specific provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. These provisions pertain to arrest, interrogation, and the granting of bail.
The plea is scheduled for hearing before the bench of Justice Suresh Kumar Kait and Justice Manoj Jain.The AAP national convenor had approached the high court in the wake of the ninth summons issued by the ED asking him to appear before it on March 21. The high court bench on March 20 asked the ED to file its reply with respect to the maintainability of the petition.
The following day, the court requested the ED to provide a response to Kejriwal's plea seeking protection from arrest, stating that, "at this stage," it was not inclined to grant any interim relief. Subsequently, Kejriwal was arrested by the ED later that evening and is currently in judicial custody.
According to the federal probe agency, the accused individuals were allegedly in contact with Kejriwal to devise the now-defunct excise policy. This policy purportedly led to unjust advantages for them, with kickbacks allegedly provided to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in return.