The Enforcement Directorate filed a complaint against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday following his decision to skip the probe agency’s sixth summons in an alleged money laundering case related to the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy.

The complaint, filed under Section 174 of the IPC, cites Kejriwal’s intentional disobedience of the initial three summons issued to him. The court has acknowledged this, prima facie accepting that Kejriwal has committed an offence for which he could be prosecuted, news agency ANI reported citing ED sources. The court’s concern is not about the validity of the summons but rather the alleged illegal act by Kejriwal, ANI added.

Also Read: Arvind Kejriwal skips ED summons again, draws condemnation from BJP and Congress alike

Reacting to the ED summons, the AAP reiterated that the summonses sent to Kejriwal were “illegal”, and since the issue was “now in court”, the probe agency should await the court’s decision instead of repeatedly sending summonses to the Delhi CM.

On February 14, the probe agency issued its sixth summons to Kejriwal, directing him to appear before it on February 19.

Significantly, the AAP leader has consistently ignored all ED summonses, asserting that they were “illegal” and driven by political motives. The prior five summonses were issued on February 2, January 18, January 3, December 22, 2023, and November 2, 2023.

Also Read: Delhi excise policy case: Arvind Kejriwal skips third Enforcement Directorate summons

On February 7, Kejriwal was instructed to appear before the court after the ED filed a complaint against him on February 3 for not complying with previous summonses related to the liquor policy case. The court pointed out that the AAP leader was “legally bound” to comply.

The complaint was filed under Section 174 of the IPC for non-attendance in obedience to an order from a public servant and Section 50 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

In response to repeated ED summonses, Kejriwal has consistently argued that they were “illegal attempts” to hinder him and aimed at preventing him from campaigning for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.