Arvind Kejriwal and Hemant Soren, the two CMs under ED scanner: Can they be arrested?

livemint.com:

Arvind Kejriwal and his Jharkhand counterpart Hemant Soren are the two CMs who currently under the scanner of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) over money laundering cases. They both have skipped summons by the financial probe agencies and are in a close radar of the financial prove agency. Speculations are rife that these two chief ministers may get arrested.

But can they be arrested being the chief ministers of the state? And what are the cases against them? Let take a deep dive into the matter: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was summoned by the ED thrice — on January 3, November 2 and December 21. He skipped them all, calling them "illegal" and "politically motivated". The financial probe agency had called him to record his statement in connection with an excise policy-linked money laundering case.

The summons to Kejriwal were issued after the Supreme Court had asked the ED in October 2023 to explain why the political party, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which was allegedly the beneficiary of the Delhi Excise Policy 'scam', has not been made an accused in the money laundering case. Kejriwal's party colleagues Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh are already in judicial custody in connections the same case. ALSO READ: 'Law will decide if Arvind Kejriwal can..': BJP Delhi chief hits out at CM over ED summons in excise case Meanwhile, the ED had earlier claimed the AAP used ₹100 crore received as kickback from various stakeholders for its campaign in the 2022 Goa assembly elections.