A Delhi court on Thursday acquitted former Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convenor Arvind Kejriwal in cases filed against him for not appearing before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the Delhi excise policy investigation.
The court ruled that non-appearance in response to summons alone does not constitute a criminal offence. Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Paras Dalal observed that the law requires proof of deliberate and intentional disobedience, and that simply failing to appear does not meet that threshold.
“Mere non-appearance following a summons is not intentional disobedience,” the court said while dismissing the charges related to six ED summons issued to Kejriwal during the probe into the now-scrapped excise policy.
The ED had alleged that Kejriwal had wilfully ignored the summons, prompting legal action. However, the court found no evidence to support the claim that his absence amounted to a deliberate violation of official orders.
Reacting to the verdict, Kejriwal posted “Satyameva Jayate” on social media while resharing a post announcing his acquittal in the two cases related to skipping the ED summons.
The ruling is being seen as a legal relief for the AAP leader, who has consistently denied wrongdoing in the excise policy case and maintained that the summons were politically motivated.
The ED investigation into the excise policy continues, while the court’s decision clarifies that failure to appear on summons, without proof of intent, cannot automatically be treated as a criminal act.
