Reiterating that he is no criminal, former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday courted arrest, so to speak, and was sent to Tihar in judicial custody till May 23 by a Delhi court which had summoned him as an accused in a complaint filed by BJP leader Nitin Gadkari for defaming him by including his name in the list of “India's most corrupt politicians.”
“Take him in custody,” Metropolitan Magistrate Gomati Manocha ordered after Kejriwal refused to let go of his “principle” not to furnish bail as he said, “I am not a criminal. Why should I seek bail. I would rather go to jail.”
Earlier during the day, Kejriwal appeared before the court with party colleagues Manish Sisodia and advocates Prashant Bhushan and Rahul Mehra and furnished an undertaking that he will appear before the court on every hearing and will not flee from justice.
Appearing for Gadkari, senior advocate Pinki Anand vehemently opposed the move as she contended, “There is no provision in law that a person can be allowed to walk free on an undertaking. Defamation is a criminal offence. A person summoned as accused cannot be let of on an undertaking. He is an aam aadmi, why is he seeking differential treatment of filing an undertaking.”
It is to be noted that Kejriwal was released on an undertaking by another court hearing a defamation complaint filed by the then Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit. Besides this, he was let off on an undertaking in two other cases.
While BJP and Congress have dismissed the episode as mere "drama", AAP sought to justify Mr. Kejriwal's decision to go to jail instead of submitting a personal bonds of Rs. 10,000.
Mr Bhushan said: "We have always maintained that we won't file bail bond but give undertaking. Arvind refused to take bail here also."
Mr Sisodia said the issue is not of bail bonds of Rs. 10,000 but it is about principles.
"Arvind Kejriwal has committed no crime. Taking bail would have meant accepting the crime. If just calling Mr. Gadkari would result in going to jail then one should go to jail",” he said.
The party has also been defending that Mr. Kejriwal's reaction is in accordance with that of an aam aadmi (common man). " We should not allow the people to use the judicial system in order to intimidate common man," he added.
The move comes just after Mr. Kejriwal's public apology to people of Delhi for the sudden resignation of his party Government in Delhi on February 14.
PTI adds:
During the hearing, the magistrate observed, “I completely agree but why he (Mr. Kejriwal) will not furnish bail bond. What is the problem. There is a procedure and why should we follow different procedure in this case. I agree he will appear in the court but the procedure is that a person has to file bail bond. Are you looking for some exception treatment?”
Mr. Kejriwal, who also argued in the court, told the judge that he has not committed any heinous crime and added that he was not looking for any exceptional treatment. “This is my principle that when I have not done anything wrong, I will not seek bail. I am ready to go to jail,” he said.
