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Delhi court acquits Arvind Kejriwal in two ED cases over summons

Not intentional disobedience, says judge; Satyameva Jayate: AAP chief

Delhi court acquits Kejriwal in two ED cases over summonsformer Delhi Chief Minister and AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal. (File Photo)

A Delhi court Thursday acquitted former Delhi Chief Minister and AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal of the charge of disobeying a public servant’s order for skipping six summons from the Enforcement Directorate in connection with its probe into the Delhi excise policy case.

The court of Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Paras Dalal ruled that “mere non-appearance (following the summons) is not intentional disobedience”.

AAP leaders hailed the verdict and Kejriwal, in a post on X, said, “Satyameva Jayate”.

The ED had filed two criminal cases against Kejriwal – these were registered in February and March 2024 – under IPC Section 174 (non-attendance in obedience to an order from public servant). Provisions under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) provide ED with powers for launching criminal proceedings under IPC Section 174 for intentionally disobeying summons for appearance before the agency.

While giving Kejriwal a clean chit in the criminal cases, the court held that ED had failed to prove the emails through which the summons had been sent, and that such a mode of service was not envisaged under the CrPC or PMLA.

The CrPC, it said, mandates physical service of summons with procedure to record that summons have been served. It said when the PMLA does not specifically stipulate the appropriate way of serving summons, the “ED cannot devise its own way” and must adhere to the law laid down under CrPC.

The court also acquitted AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan of a similar charge for skipping three summons in connection with the probe into an alleged money laundering case relating to the Delhi Waqf Board, and discharged him in another case over three other summons. The ED case stemmed from two FIRs: one filed by the CBI concerning alleged irregularities in Waqf Board appointments; and another by the Delhi Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) regarding an alleged case of disproportionate assets.

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Kejriwal, while skipping the ED summons, had cited various elections, including those to state assemblies and Rajya Sabha and his obligation to perform his duties as Chief Minister of Delhi.

He was arrested on March 21, 2024, by the ED in an alleged money laundering case linked to the now-scrapped excise policy. On June 25, 2024, the Delhi High Court stayed a trial court order granting him bail in the ED case. He was subsequently granted interim bail on July 12, 2024 by the Supreme Court which has continued since.

In two orders, one dealing with three summons issued in 2023, and another dealing with three other summons in 2024, all served via email, ACJM Dalal said “the entire process is antithetical to the rule of law”. He said “no such mode of service is envisaged under the PMLA or CrPC”.

The court ruled that the emails furnished as evidence by the witnesses from the ED’s side had not adhered to the requirements under the Evidence Act, such as providing the message ID, creation date, day and time, etc. It said these “were critical to the prosecution’s case”.

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Kejriwal, represented by Senior Advocate Rebecca John, had submitted before the magistrate that there was no wilful disobedience on his part, and all the summons by way of email, which were otherwise invalid, do not adhere to the provisions and rules of PMLA. He had also said that he had given valid and justifiable reasons for non-appearance in response to each of the summons and that these were issued with an intention “to humiliate him politically, only to insist on his personal appearance at the ED office”.

It was also pointed out that the summons were leaked to the media before it was emailed to him, and that “hostile political parties sought to draw political mileage from it”.

The court said: “It must be understood by the investigating officer that he is summoning a witness, suspect/accused who otherwise is ‘innocent until proven guilty’…The accused cannot be convicted on mere probabilities or presumptions.”

Sohini Ghosh is a Senior Correspondent at The Indian Express. Previously based in Ahmedabad covering Gujarat, she recently moved to the New Delhi bureau, where she primarily covers legal developments at the Delhi High Court Professional Profile Background: An alumna of the Asian College of Journalism (ACJ), she previously worked with ET NOW before joining The Indian Express. Core Beats: Her reporting is currently centered on the Delhi High Court, with a focus on high-profile constitutional disputes, disputes over intellectual property, criminal and civil cases, issues of human rights and regulatory law (especially in the areas of technology and healthcare). Earlier Specialty: In Gujarat, she was known for her rigorous coverage in the beats of crime, law and policy, and social justice issues, including the 2002 riot cases, 2008 serial bomb blast case, 2016 flogging of Dalits in Una, among others. She has extensively covered health in the state, including being part of the team that revealed the segregation of wards at the state’s largest government hospital on lines of faith in April 2020. With Ahmedabad being a UNESCO heritage city, she has widely covered urban development and heritage issues, including the redevelopment of the Sabarmati Ashram Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025) Her recent reporting from the Delhi High Court covers major political, constitutional, corporate, and public-interest legal battles: High-Profile Case Coverage She has extensively covered the various legal battles - including for compensation under the aegis of North East Delhi Riots Claims Commission - pertaining to the 2020 northeast Delhi riots, as well as 1984 anti-Sikh riots. She has also led coverage at the intersection of technology and governance, and its impact on the citizenry, from, and beyond courtrooms — such as the government’s stakeholder consultations for framing AI-Deepfake policy. Signature Style Sohini is recognized for her sustained reporting from courtrooms and beyond. She specialises in breaking down dense legal arguments to make legalese accessible for readers. Her transition from Gujarat to Delhi has seen her expand her coverage on regulatory, corporate and intellectual property law, while maintaining a strong commitment to human rights and lacuna in the criminal justice system. X (Twitter): @thanda_ghosh ... Read More

Nirbhay Thakur is a Senior Correspondent with The Indian Express who primarily covers district courts in Delhi and has reported on the trials of many high-profile cases since 2023. Professional Background Education: Nirbhay is an economics graduate from Delhi University. Beats: His reporting spans the trial courts, and he occasionally interviews ambassadors and has a keen interest in doing data stories. Specializations: He has a specific interest in data stories related to courts. Core Strength: Nirbhay is known for tracking long-running legal sagas and providing meticulous updates on high-profile criminal trials. Recent notable articles In 2025, he has written long form articles and two investigations. Along with breaking many court stories, he has also done various exclusive stories. 1) A long form on Surender Koli, accused in the Nithari serial killings of 2006. He was acquitted after spending 2 decades in jail. was a branded man. Deemed the “cannibal" who allegedly lured children to his employer’s house in Noida, murdered them, and “ate their flesh” – his actions cited were cited as evidence of human depravity at its worst. However, the SC acquitted him finding various lapses in the investigation. The Indian Express spoke to his lawyers and traced the 2 decades journey.  2) For decades, the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has been at the forefront of the Government’s national rankings, placed at No. 2 over the past two years alone. It has also been the crucible of campus activism, its protests often spilling into national debates, its student leaders going on to become the faces and voices of political parties of all hues and thoughts. The Indian Express looked at all court cases spanning over two decades and did an investigation. 3) Investigation on the 700 Delhi riots cases. The Indian Express found that in 17 of 93 acquittals (which amounted to 85% of the decided cases) in Delhi riots cases, courts red-flag ‘fabricated’ evidence and pulled up the police. Signature Style Nirbhay’s writing is characterized by its procedural depth. He excels at summarizing 400-page chargesheets and complex court orders into digestible news for the general public. X (Twitter): @Nirbhaya99 ... Read More

 

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