Kejriwal asked to appear before court in Jaitley defamation case

Jaitleyalleged that AAP leaders made 'false, defamatory' statements in a case involving DDCA

A Delhi court on Monday directed Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and five other AAP leaders to appear before it on the next date of hearing as it is likely to frame notice against them in a defamation case filed by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Sumit Dass said that Kejriwal and other leaders are required to be present on March 25, the next date fixed for framing of notice against the six accused in the defamation case.

Jaitley filed a defamation case against Kejriwal and Aam Aadmi Party leaders Kumar Vishwas, Ashutosh, Sanjay Singh, Raghav Chadha and Deepak Bajpayee, alleging that they made "false and defamatory" statements in a case involving the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA), thereby harming his reputation.

Jaitley said the AAP leaders made the statements to deflect public attention from a Central Bureau of Investigation probe against a civil servant working with Kejriwal.

The court allowed the plea of Jaitley as well as the AAP leaders seeking exemption from personal appearance.

The court also dismissed the plea of Kejriwal and other AAP leaders for right to be heard on point of framing of notice in a criminal defamation complaint.

The accused had moved the court seeking a chance to be heard before it decided on whether they would be put on trial in the criminal defamation complaint.