Delhi court exempts CM Kejriwal from personal appearance for 17 February in case of evading ED summons

Appearing for Kejriwal, senior advocate Ramesh Gupta told the court that the Delhi chief minister will appear before it in person on the next date of hearing.

The court has adjourned the matter to 16 March.

Also Read: CM Kejriwal skips 5th ED summons; AAP and BJP protest in Delhi

ED’s complaint

In its complaint, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has alleged that the Delhi chief minister intentionally did not want to obey the summonses and kept on giving “lame excuses”.

If a high-ranking public functionary like him disobeyed the law, it would “set a wrong example for the common man ie the “Aam Aadmi”, the agency said.

From the contents of the complaint and the material placed on record, prima facie offence under Section 174 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) is made out and there are sufficient grounds for proceeding against the accused Arvind Kejriwal, the judge had earlier said.

“Accordingly, issue summons to accused Arvind Kejriwal for the offence under Section 174 of the IPC for 17 February, 2024,” the judge had added.

Section 174 of the IPC relates to non-attendance in obedience to an order from a public servant.

The ED on 3 February filed a fresh complaint case against Kejriwal for non-compliance of its summonses.

The AAP convenor had earlier written to the ED, describing the summonses issued to him as “illegal and politically motivated”. He had alleged that the summonses were aimed at preventing him from campaigning in elections.

Also Read: ED likely to issue fresh summons to Arvind Kejriwal

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