We will challenge Kejriwal’s acquittal for skipping summons in Delhi liquor policy case: ED tells HC

The Enforcement Directorate told the Delhi High Court on Thursday that it will challenge former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s acquittal in cases about him not appearing before the agency after its summons in the liquor policy case, Live Law reported.

Additional Solicitor General SV Raju said this after Kejriwal’s counsel sought to withdraw a plea challenging the summons issued to the Aam Aadmi Party chief in the matter.

Kejriwal’s counsel told the High Court that he did not want to pursue the matter further as he had already been acquitted in the criminal cases against him for failing to appear before the Enforcement Directorate, PTI reported.

The High Court allowed Kejriwal to withdraw the plea.

On January 22, a trial court acquitted the former chief minister in two separate cases filed against him for not appearing before the Enforcement Directorate, PTI reported.

The trial court held that as a serving chief minister, “he too enjoyed his fundamental right of movement” and that the Enforcement Directorate failed to prove that Kejriwal intentionally disobeyed the summons.

Kejriwal was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in March 2024. Till then, he had been summoned nine times by the law enforcement agency in connection with alleged irregularities in the Delhi government’s now-scrapped liquor excise policy.

The chief minister had skipped all nine summonses.

Kejriwal was granted bail in his arrest...

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