Delhi HC Stays Summons to Arvind Kejriwal’s Wife, Sunita Kejriwal, Over Alleged Voter List Violation

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court intervened on Monday, putting a halt to the lower court’s summons served to Sunita Kejriwal, the wife of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, over alleged violations of election laws by being listed in the voter rolls of two assembly constituencies. Justice Amit Bansal issued notices to both the State and the complainant, responding to Sunita Kejriwal’s plea challenging the trial court’s order, which demanded her appearance on November 18 in connection with the accusations.

The court issued a stay on the operation of the impugned order and scheduled further hearings for February 1.

The complaint against Sunita Kejriwal was filed by BJP leader Harish Khurana, who alleged that she had breached the provisions of the Representation of the People (RP) Act. According to Khurana, Sunita Kejriwal was registered as a voter in both the Sahibabad assembly constituency (part of the parliamentary constituency Ghaziabad) in Uttar Pradesh and the Chandni Chowk assembly constituency in Delhi. He claimed this violated Section 17 of the RP Act, arguing that Sunita Kejriwal should be penalized under Section 31 of the Act for making false declarations.

Representing Sunita Kejriwal, senior advocate Rebecca John argued before the high court that the trial court’s order was made without proper consideration. She stressed that possessing two electoral cards was not a criminal offense, and there was no evidence to prove that Sunita Kejriwal had made any false statements.

Previously, Metropolitan Magistrate Arjinder Kaur had summoned Sunita Kejriwal on November 18, stating, “After considering the testimony of the complainant and other witnesses, this court is of the considered opinion that a prima facie case is made out against the accused person, namely Sunita Kejriwal, wife of Arvind Kejriwal, for the alleged commission of the offenses punishable under Section 31 of the Representation of Peoples Act, 1950. Hence, the accused be summoned accordingly.” The offense carries a maximum penalty of two years in jail.