A magistrate's court has granted bail to Arvind Kejriwal, the Chief Minister of Delhi, following complaints filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for his failure to comply with the agency's summons in connection with a money laundering case linked to the now-defunct excise policy.
Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) Divya Malhotra, presiding over the Rouse Avenue Court, provided relief to Chief Minister Kejriwal on a bail bond of Rs 50,000 along with a surety of Rs 50,000.
Even though the judge allowed Kejriwal to depart from the court premises, the legal proceedings continued with senior advocate Ramesh Gupta and Additional Solicitor General (ASG) S.V. Raju presenting arguments.
Gupta, representing CM Kejriwal, argued for the application under Section 207 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) concerning the supply of documents.
ASG Raju dismissed these arguments as mere delaying tactics, asserting that all entitled documents had already been provided.
ACMM Malhotra has scheduled a hearing on Kejriwal's application for document supply under Section 207 of the CrPC for April 1.
On Friday, a sessions court declined to stay the summons issued to CM Kejriwal by the ACMM, prompting Kejriwal to approach the sessions court since he was summoned to appear on Saturday before the ACMM.
The ED had lodged two complaints for non-compliance with their summons, both of which were heard by the ACMM on Saturday.
Regarding the first complaint, ACMM had granted a day's exemption from physical appearance to CM Kejriwal on February 17.
The second complaint alleges Kejriwal's failure to comply with summons numbered 4 to 8.
Kejriwal had requested the financial probe agency for a date after March 12 for questioning related to the excise policy case, responding to the eighth summons issued on February 27, which directed him to appear on March 4.
ACMM Malhotra had taken cognizance of the first complaint on February 7, issuing summons for Kejriwal to appear on February 17.
The ED had summoned CM Kejriwal for the fifth time on January 31, directing him to appear on February 2.
The ED's complaint alleged that Kejriwal deliberately avoided obeying the summons, offering "lame excuses," setting a poor example for the public.
Kejriwal did not appear before the ED for questioning on February 2, prompting AAP to declare the summons as 'unlawful,' affirming their compliance with lawful summons.
Read also | Delhi Court Denies Stay on ED Summons to Kejriwal: A Blow for the Chief Minister
