A Delhi court granted bail to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who had appeared in court on Saturday. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had filed allegations alleging that Kejriwal had not followed summonses pertaining to the liquor policy issue.
Kejriwal was granted regular bail by the Rouse Avenue Court, which acknowledged that his accused offense is subject to bail. He was instructed to produce a surety bond and bail bonds totaling fifteen thousand.
The previous day, a Sessions Court refused to block the summonses issued against Kejriwal by Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Divya Malhotra. Kejriwal was summoned to appear in court on March 16 in response to a case filed by the ED, which had moved to the Rouse Avenue Court for the second time. The ED had issued eight summonses to Kejriwal in connection with the liquor policy matter.
Previously, on February 3, after Kejriwal refused to respond to summons for the fifth time, the ED filed a complaint under Criminal Procedure Code sections 190 and 200. Kejriwal failed to comply with the agency’s summonses issued under Section 50 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and did not engage in the inquiry. The court then ordered Kejriwal to appear before it on February 17.
On the stated date, Kejriwal appeared in court via video conferencing, citing a confidence motion and a budget session in the Assembly as reasons for his physical absence. He promised the court that he would attend in person on March 16.
