New Delhi: A Delhi court on Tuesday (July 9) took congnisance of the Enforcement Directorate’s prosecution complaint (chargesheet) which has made Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) accused in the Delhi excise policy case.
Taking cognisance of the ED chargesheet, Special Judge (PC Act) Kaveri Baweja issued production warrants for Delhi CM Kejriwal, directing him to appear before the court on July 12, reported Bar and Bench.
On May 17, the ED had filed the eighth chargesheet in the case and had named Kejriwal and AAP as accused.
Kejriwal is in judicial custody in the corruption and money laundering cases related to the alleged scam. The cases have been registered by CBI and ED.
Kejriwal was arrested by the ED on March 21. Aside from interim bail to campaign for the elections, he and other top leaders of the party which is in opposition to the Bharatiya Janata Party – which controls the ED and CBI – have been in jail in connection with various cases for prolonged periods.
The CBI’s corruption case keeps Kejriwal behind bars even if he gets bail on the ED’s case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
After the court took cognisance of the ED, AAP said in a statement that the BJP wants to crush the party.
“The ED’s intention from the very beginning of this fake investigation was to frame AAP, arrest all its top leaders and crush the party. The BJP sees AAP as the biggest threat and has deployed the ED and the CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) to ensure AAP is finished,” said AAP in a statement, reported the Press Trust of India.