The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has lodged a complaint under Section 174 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
The complaint alleges that Kejriwal intentionally disobeyed the first three summons issued to him.
The court has acknowledged the complaint, suggesting a prima facie acceptance that Kejriwal may have committed an offence. The issue at hand for the court is not the validity of the summons, but the alleged intentional disobedience by Kejriwal. Kejriwal, aged 55, declined to appear before the federal agency for the sixth time on Monday.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has stated that the ED should await the court's decision before repeatedly issuing summonses to the Chief Minister. On February 17, a Delhi court granted Kejriwal exemption from personal appearance for the day in connection with the complaint filed by the central agency for disobeying its summons in an excise policy-linked money laundering case.
The matter has been scheduled for March 16, with Kejriwal's counsel assuring the court of his physical presence on that day. Sources from the ED have stated that the agency had previously filed a complaint under Section 174 of IPC against Kejriwal for 'intentionally disobeying' the first three summons issued in this case.