New Delhi

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday issued a notice to former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on pleas filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) challenging his acquittal in two summons-related cases linked to the excise policy probe.

Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma directed Kejriwal to respond and scheduled the matter for hearing on April 29, noting that the respondent had not appeared despite prior notice.

ED challenges trial court relief

The ED has contested a January 22 trial court order that acquitted Kejriwal in cases accusing him of failing to comply with agency summons. The agency alleged that he deliberately avoided appearing for questioning and raised “frivolous objections” to evade the probe.

However, the trial court had ruled that the ED failed to establish that Kejriwal intentionally disobeyed the summons.

Larger excise policy case context

The matter is part of the broader Delhi excise policy investigation, in which the ED has alleged that the now-scrapped policy led to undue benefits for certain entities and kickbacks to the Aam Aadmi Party.

Kejriwal is currently on interim bail in a related money laundering case. The Supreme Court of India has referred key questions regarding the “need and necessity of arrest” under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act to a larger bench for detailed examination.

Parallel proceedings

Separately, a trial court had discharged Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, and 21 others in a CBI case related to the same policy, stating that the case could not withstand judicial scrutiny. The Central Bureau of Investigation has challenged that discharge, and the matter remains pending before the high court.

READ MORE: Aneesa Sayyad: The ‘Golden Girl’ of Indian shooting

The case continues to evolve across multiple legal fronts, with parallel proceedings involving both the ED and CBI under judicial consideration.