Delhi High Court Examines Kejriwal's Challenge Against ED's Criminal Complaints

The Delhi High Court has issued a notice on Arvind Kejriwal's petition challenging the Enforcement Directorate's criminal complaints against him. Justice Manoj Kumar Ohri has asked the ED to respond, following Kejriwal's concerns about the maintainability of the complaints, scheduled for a hearing on December 19.

The Delhi High Court has issued a notice concerning a petition filed by former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who is contesting the validity of criminal complaints lodged by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) after his non-appearance in response to its summons related to the Delhi excise policy case.

Justice Manoj Kumar Ohri directed the ED to provide a response to Kejriwal's petition, which also challenges a trial court's decision to acknowledge the ED's complaints. The case has been slated for a subsequent hearing on December 19. Advocate Rebecca M. John, representing Kejriwal, highlighted procedural discrepancies in the complaints lodged under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act and Section 174 of the IPC.

However, opposing the petition, ED's advocate Zoheb Hossain defended the validity of the complaint. Earlier, the ED approached a Delhi court over Kejriwal's non-compliance with a summons in the excise policy case, leading up to his arrest and interim bail from the Supreme Court.

(With inputs from agencies.)