The Enforcement Directorate has approached a Delhi court against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for skipping five summons in connection with the liquor policy case, reported Bar and Bench.

The central law enforcement agency’s case was heard in the court of Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Divya Malhotra on Saturday. It has been listed for further consideration on Thursday.

The case has been filed citing Kejriwal’s non-compliance with Section 50 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, which defines the powers of the Enforcement Directorate to issue summons and demand the production of documents.

Kejriwal on Friday skipped summons by the Enforcement Directorate for the fifth time. On the same day, he took part in a protest in Delhi against the Bharatiya Janata Party for allegedly influencing the outcome of the Chandigarh mayoral election on Thursday.

The Enforcement Directorate’s case against the chief minister is based on a first information report registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation. The report alleges that the Aam Aadmi Party modified Delhi’s liquor excise policy for 2021-2022 to ensure a 12% profit margin for wholesalers and a nearly 185% profit margin for retailers.

Two senior Aam Aadmi Party leaders – Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh – are currently in jail in connection with the case. The party and its leaders have denied the allegations and claimed that Enforcement Directorate wants to arrest Kejriwal and stop him from campaigning for the Lok Sabha polls, due later this year.

The Enforcement Directorate has also claimed that a few businessmen from South India paid at least Rs 100 crore in kickbacks through hawala channels to leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party through businessman Vijay Nair, who is in also in jail in connection with the case.

Also read: A ‘liquor scam’ has put AAP leaders in jail. But has it dented the party’s image in Delhi?