Arvind Kejriwal, the former Chief Minister of Delhi and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader, has approached the Delhi High Court, challenging a trial court’s decision to take cognizance of a chargesheet filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) against him.
This case is linked to the alleged excise policy scam, with Kejriwal facing charges of money laundering. His plea, which is expected to be heard on Thursday, seeks to have the trial court’s order set aside. Kejriwal argues that the special judge should not have taken cognizance of the chargesheet without the necessary sanction for prosecuting him, as he was serving as the Delhi CM— a public servant—when the alleged offence occurred.
Previously, on November 12, the court had directed the ED to respond to Kejriwal’s plea challenging the summons issued against him in the money laundering case. However, the court declined to stay the trial court’s proceedings at this stage.
Kejriwal had been granted interim bail by the Supreme Court in the money laundering case on July 12, 2023, and was also released on bail by the Supreme Court in a related CBI case on September 13, 2023. The case stems from an FIR filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) after the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi, V. K. Saxena, recommended a probe into alleged irregularities in the implementation of the excise policy, which the Delhi government had introduced on November 17, 2021. The policy was later scrapped by September 2022 amid corruption allegations.
