The Delhi high court on Wednesday sought the Enforcement Directorate’s response on plea moved by Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal challenging several summons issued to him by the agency in connection with the Delhi excise policy case. 

The agency said it will reply and oppose the plea on maintainability grounds, ANI reported.

Senior advocates Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Vikram Chaudhari, who appeared for Kejriwal, objected to the ED’s submissions opposing the plea on maintainability grounds. The court has fixed April 22 as the next date of hearing. 

Kejriwal had moved the high court days after the ED had issued ninth summons to him, asking the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convenor to appear for questioning on March 21.

Last week, the Delhi CM was granted bail by city’s Rouse Avenue court in a case filed by ED for skipping summons. During the hearing, Kejriwal appeared physically before the court.

The Enforcement Directorate wants to record the AAP chief’s statement in the case on issues including formulation of policy, meetings held before it was finalized, and allegations of bribery.

In its sixth charge sheet filed in the case on December 2, 2023, naming AAP leader Sanjay Singh and his aide Sarvesh Mishra, the ED claimed that the AAP used kickbacks worth ₹45 crore generated via the policy as part of its assembly elections campaign in Goa in 2022. Singh and former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia were arrested by the ED and are currently in judicial custody. 

Kejriwal’s name has been mentioned multiple times in the charge sheets filed by the ED. The central probe agency has alleged that the accused were in touch with Kejriwal for formulating the excise policy that resulted in undue benefits for them in return for which they paid kickbacks to the Aam Aadmi Party.