New Delhi, March 30: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has approached the Delhi High Court challenging a trial court order acquitting AAP leader and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in cases related to alleged non-compliance with agency summons in the excise policy probe.
The matter is likely to come up for hearing before Justice J Swarana Kanta Sharma. The ED’s plea contests the January 22, 2026 order passed by Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Paras Dalal at Rouse Avenue Court, which had acquitted Kejriwal, observing that the agency failed to prove deliberate disobedience of summons.
In its petition, the ED alleged that Kejriwal “deliberately ignored the summons and failed to cooperate with the probe,” adding that he raised “baseless objections” to avoid appearing before investigators.
The case stems from alleged irregularities in the now-scrapped Delhi Excise Policy 2022. A complaint by the Lieutenant Governor led the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to register an FIR, alleging that certain policy changes granted undue benefits to licence holders, including fee waivers, improper extensions and kickbacks, with proceeds allegedly laundered through false accounting.
The ED subsequently initiated a money laundering probe, naming Kejriwal among the accused. He was arrested during the investigation and later granted bail by the Supreme Court of India after spending months in custody. He is currently on interim bail.
Separately, on February 27, a trial court discharged Kejriwal, his former deputy Manish Sisodia and 21 others in the main excise policy case, stating that the CBI’s case lacked merit. The agency’s challenge to that order is pending before the High Court.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has referred questions relating to the necessity of arrest under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to a larger bench for consideration.
