Kejriwal not to appear in Amethi court for now: SC

In a relief to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, the Supreme Court on Tuesday dispensed with, for now, his personal appearance before a court in Amethi in Uttar Pradesh in connection with a criminal case.

An apex court bench of Justice J. Chelameswar and Justice Abhay Manohar Sapre suspended Kejriwal's appearance as senior counsel Rajeev Dhawan told the court there was no requirement of a personal appearance and that Kejriwal could be represented by his lawyer.

Dhawan cited high court judgments in support of his contention.

Issuing notice on Kejriwal's petition which challenged the Allahabad High Court order directing him to personally appear before the court in Amethi, seek bail and apply for exemption from personal appearance, the Supreme Court ordered that the personal appearance of the petitioner (Kejriwal) before the trial court is dispensed with till further orders.

The case before the Amethi court is rooted in Kejriwal allegedly making an inflammatory speech during the 2014 Lok Sabha election campaign.

Kejriwal was required to appear before the Amethi court on September 23.