Arvind Kejriwal seeks argument on charge in Jaitley's defamation case

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and five other AAP leaders Monday moved a city court seeking chance to be heard before it decided whether they would be put on trial in a criminal defamation complaint filed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley against them.

Appearing before Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Sumit Dass, Jaitley’s counsel informed the court that the Delhi High Court has dismissed the accused’s plea seeking stay on the trial court proceedings in the case.

Senior advocate Siddharth Luthra, appearing for the complainant, urged the court that notice/charge be framed against the accused persons—Kejriwal, Ashutosh, Sanjay Singh, Kumar Vishwas, Raghav Chadha and Deepak Bajpai.

Advocate Rahul Mehra, however, moved an application on behalf of all the accused seeking chance to address the argument on point of whether to frame the charges.

The court has now put up the matter for further hearing on November 11. The court granted exemption from personal appearance for the day to Kejriwal, Ashutosh and Sanjay.

The court had on May 19 dismissed the accused’s plea seeking stay of the proceedings in the criminal defamation case, after which they approached the high court.

Jaitley had filed the criminal defamation complaint alleging that the accused had allegedly defamed him in Delhi District Cricket Association (DDCA) controversy. A civil defamation suit has also been filed by Jaitley before the Delhi High Court in relation to the matter seeking Rs 10 crore in damages.