Day after bail, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal gets summons in two cases

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 17

A day after a local court granted bail to Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal on two complaints filed by the ED against him for skipping summons in the excise policy case, the agency today issued two fresh summons to him.

On ED radar

• ED issued 9th summons to Delhi CM in excise case, seeking appearance on Thursday
• It also summoned him on Monday in a case linked to ‘wrongs’ in Delhi Jal Board

In the excise policy case, the ED has issued ninth summons to Kejriwal, directing him to appear before it on Thursday. The agency has also summoned the CM in a second money laundering case linked to alleged irregularities in Delhi Jal Board (DJB), asking him to appear for questioning on Monday.

The ED has filed multiple complaints seeking Kejriwal’s prosecution for not complying with summons in the excise policy case. The latest complaint pertains to his failure to honour summons numbered four to eight, while earlier complaints were related to his non-appearance on the first three summons.

In a related development, BRS leader K Kavitha, alleged to be involved in paying kickbacks to AAP in exchange for a share of liquor licences in Delhi, was remanded in ED custody till March 23. The ED is investigating alleged irregularities in two contracts of the DJB. Its first case is based on a CBI FIR alleging irregularities in a contract awarded to NKG Infrastructure Ltd for Rs 38 crore even though the company “did not meet” the technical eligibility criteria. The ED has arrested individuals linked to the contract, alleging that kickbacks were involved in awarding the contract and these funds were subsequently used for illicit purposes, including as election funds for AAP.

The second case stems from an FIR filed by the Anti-Corruption Branch of the Delhi Government in November 2022. The case involves a tender awarded by the DJB for setting up automotive bill payment collection machines (kiosks) in its offices. The tender was initially granted to Corporation Bank in 2012, which then sub-contracted the work to Chennai-based companies Freshpay IT Solutions Pvt Ltd and Aurrum E-payments Pvt Ltd.

The ED alleges these companies violated the terms of the agreement by not depositing cash thus collected into DJB’s account as stipulated.

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