A Delhi court on Wednesday fixed September 14 as the date for framing of charges against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his deputy Manish Sisodia in a criminal defamation case.
Personal appearance
Metropolitan Magistrate Vijay Kumar Jha had earlier allowed Mr. Kejriwal and Mr. Sisodia’s plea for exemption from personal appearance.
Assembly polls
The other accused in the case is Swaraj Abhiyan president Yogendra Yadav. Mr. Yadav was in the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) when the case was filed.
The complainant, former Shahdara Bar Association secretary Surender Sharma, had alleged that he was asked by the AAP to contest the Delhi Assembly elections in 2013 but later read an article in a leading daily quoting a party statement claiming that he was being replaced since he had criminal cases pending against him.
‘Defamatory remarks’
“The press release published in newspapers as well as testimonies of witnesses reflect that defamatory remarks were published in newspapers, which affected the reputation of the complainant in society and lowered his reputation in the eyes of other members of society,” the court had said while summoning the three leaders.
The court had summoned them under Sections 499, 500 (defamation) and 34 (common intention) of the IPC, saying there was prima facie material to summon the accused.
