Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Monday filed a criminal defamation suit against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and five other AAP leaders in the Patiala House district courts.
Mr. Jaitley, accompanied by union HRD Minister Smriti Irani and Urban Development M. Venkaiah Naidu, personally appeared before Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Sanjay Khanagwal and filed the suit alleging that the Delhi CM and other AAP leaders had defamed him by accusing that he was involved in the alleged corruption in DDCA.
The court later took cognisance of the offences mentioned in the suit against the CM and AAP leaders and fixed January 5 as the date for recording of evidence of Mr. Jaitley.
The other respondents in the suit are AAP leaders Ashutosh, Kumar Vishwas, Raghav Chaddha, Deepak Bajpyee and Sanjay Singh.
Kejriwal responds
Our fight against corruption will continue: Arvind Kejriwal on Jaitley’s defamation suit.
"Jaitley should cooperate with Delhi Government’s Commission of Inquiry and prove his innocence," he says.
PTI adds
Next hearing in Jaitley's defamation case is on January 5, 2016 at 2 p.m.
Mr. Jaitley has sought Rs. 10 crore as damages from Mr. Kejriwal and other AAP leaders — Kumar Vishwas, Ashutosh, Sanjay Singh, Raghav Chadha and Deepak Bajpayee — for their alleged defamatory remarks.
Advocate Manik Dogra said the civil suit on behalf of Mr. Jaitley would come up in the normal course of listing. Mr. Jaitley’s action comes in the backdrop of attacks on him by Mr. Kejriwal and other AAP leaders over alleged irregularities and financial bunglings in Delhi’s cricket body, Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA), of which he was the president for about 13 years till 2013.
The Union minister had on Sunday said that he would also filed a criminal defamation case against Mr. Kejriwal and other five AAP leaders at Patiala House court. He chose not to give any legal notice to Mr. Kejriwal and other AAP leaders asking them to apologise or face defamation cases. Instead, the case was straightaway filed in the court.
