NEW DELHI: In a partial relief to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, a city court on Saturday in its order granted him bail in two complaints filed by the Enforcement Directorate for skipping summons in a money laundering case linked to the alleged Delhi excise policy.
However, even as the court of Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) Divya Malhotra granted bail to Kejriwal, in coming days, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convenor would have a tough time fighting the case filed in various courts, clubbing with the fact that its several leaders are in jail in the case.
"Offence being bailable, accused, Arvind Kejriwal is admitted to bail," the ACMM said in the order.
Kejriwal had to appear before the courtroom in the case on Saturday, after complying with the ACMM Court's order, which had directed him to appear before it physically.
The court directed Kejriwal to furnish a bail bond of ₹15,000 and a surety of ₹1 lakh, before enlarging him on bail.
In the Delhi Excise Policy scam case, the ED, which is the central probe agency in the case, had served him 8 and on all these occasions, he failed to appear before it for questioning.
As a result of which, the ED had to take legal recourse against the AAP leader, to make him available for questioning in the case. Thereby it had moved the court seeking a direction for his production/availability before it.
Kejriwal, through his lawyers -- Ramesh Gupta and Rajeev Mohan -- argued before the ACMM Court that he did not miss the ED summons intentionally, but was unable to do so due to his “hectic schedule as a CM”.
Gupta said that his client had been summoned with the intention to be arrested. Just a few hours after it was announced that he would go to Goa for election campaigning, thereby they summoned me.
"There is a reason I said I could not go as I remain busy in public functions, as a CM. And the magistrate has not considered this," he said.
Opposing this submission of Kejriwal, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) S V Raju, senior lawyer for the ED, however, said that the CM cannot ask the magisterial court to conduct a “mini trial” now, and added: “If his disobedience was intentional or not is a matter of trial," Raju argued before the ACMM Court.
The court today directed the ED to hand over the documents in connection with the complaints filed by the agency against him.
The ED had earlier moved the magisterial court seeking Kejriwal's prosecution for not attending the first three summonses issued to him in the money laundering case linked to the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy.
