ED calls Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal again, but what if he declines again?

The Chief Minister may not appear this time too, as he is supposed to be at a Vipassana session from December 19 onward. Can an individual ignore summons by a central investigative agency like the ED?

Under what law did the ED summon Kejriwal?

This is the second time that the ED has summoned the Chief Minister. Under Section 50 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, anyone who is summoned is required to appear in person or through their authorised agents before investigators.

In its preliminary complaint (similar to a chargesheet) filed in a Delhi court in January 2022, the ED claimed that Kejriwal had spoken on a video call with an accused named Sameer Mahendru, and had told him to keep working with a co-accused and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader named Vijay Nair, whom Kejriwal had allegedly referred to as “his boy”.

The ED has also claimed that Mahendru had stated that Nair had told him that “the new excise policy was a brainchild of Kejriwal”.

So why has Kejriwal declined to join the investigation?

On the first occasion, Kejriwal had alleged that the summons had been issued at the behest of the BJP, and appeared to be “in the nature of a fishing and roving inquiry” by the ED.

He had said it was unclear whether he had been summoned “as a witness or a suspect”, or “whether I am being summoned as an individual or in my official capacity as Chief Minister of Delhi or as National Convenor of AAP”.

He had asked the investigation officer to recall the “vague and motivated summons”, which he had said were “unsustainable in law”.

This time, AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sandeep Pathak told reporters that legal opinion has been sought regarding the fresh notice. “It is known that Arvind Kejriwal ji is supposed to go for Vipassana. These things are decided months in advance. A lawyer is going through the notice and a decision will be taken soon,” he said on Monday.

What can the Enforcement Directorate do now?

The ED can issue a third notice to Kejriwal, and can, in theory, continue to issue notices until he complies. However, if he still does not join the investigation, the agency can exercise one of two options.

One, they can move an application before a court, and ask for a non-bailable warrant against the Chief Minister.

Two, investigators can show up at his residence and question him there. Thereafter, if they have concrete evidence, they can arrest him.