Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal skipped the seventh summons issued to him by the Enforcement Directorate in the excise case. Kejriwal said that he would join the investigation only on the court direction.

Due to the Delhi CM’s reluctance to come before the sleuths, the ED had filed a complaint before a Special PMLA court judge, seeking directions for the Delhi CM to appear before the investigating team in the excise case. The court has asked Kejriwal to appear before it on March 16.

“If the court says to go, then I will go,” Kejriwal said, wanting to know whether the Union government and the ED trust the court. He said that the agency should await the court’s orders, which they themselves initiated. Throughout, AAP convener and the party have alleged that the ED’s summons are illegal and intended to arrest

ED sources, however, had earlier stated that the court has not stopped them from summoning Kejriwal in the case.

On Monday, Kejriwal visited Rajghat along with Ministers and MLAs of the AAP to mark one year since the arrest of his former deputy Manish Sisodia in the case, and alleged that the ED was trying to create pressure on him to quit the INDIA block. Among others, AAP MP from Rajya Sabha Sanjay Singh is also languishing in jail in the excise policy irregularities case.

BRS leader K Kavitha

In the same case, BRS leader K Kavitha also sought exemption from appearance before the CBI sleuths on the pretext of personal engagements and parliamentary elections.

She was asked by the CBI to appear before the investigators at the CBI headquarters on Monday. The BRS MLC has requested the CBI to withdraw the latest summons seeking her presence in the case.

“I may request you to firstly revoke or withdraw the subject notice as it appears to be sent by invoking Section 41A CrPC while not being aware or conscious of the earlier notice sent under Section 160 CrPC,” she said.

While a notice under Section 41A of CrPC is issued to a person against whom a “reasonable suspicion” exists that the person had committed a cognizable offence, through 160 of the CrPC a witness is summoned by police or investigative agency.

Kavita said she had already complied with summons issued to her under Section 160 of the CrPC on December 2, 2022. There is no “reason” or “background”, she claimed, for summons in the other Section of the CrPC. “There is absolutely no logic, reason or background forthcoming as to how, why and under what circumstances you have now resorted to Section 41A CrPC,” she said.

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