Kejriwal arrested in Gadkari defamation case

AAP chief had refused to furnish bail bond of Rs 10,000 in a case filed by BJP leader Nitin Gadkari; to remain in Tihar Jail till hearing on Friday

Former Delhi chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal was sent to judicial custody by a local court on Wednesday after he refused to pay a bail bond of Rs 10,000 in connection with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Nitin Gadkari’s defamation case.

“Take him into custody,” Metropolitan Magistrate Gomati Manocha ordered after Kejriwal repeatedly refused to give a personal bail bond of Rs 10,000 and a surety of the amount.

Kejriwal, who had earlier in the day offered a public apology for quitting the Delhi government in 49 days, was produced before Patiala House court for “defaming” Gadkari as “India’s most corrupt politician” in a list of people he had issued on January 31.

Kejriwal said he was ready to give an undertaking to appear before the court but refused to furnish a bail bond.

“It 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. Advocates Prashant Bhushan and Rahul Mehra, who appeared for Kejriwal, told the magistrate these cases were of a political nature and according to the principles of AAP, they would not furnish bail bond. Bhushan also argued there was no possibility that Kejriwal would tamper with the evidence or influence the witnesses.

“In these circumstances, as the accused has refused to give a bail bond and a personal bond without surety, this court is constrained to take the accused into custody,” the magistrate said.

“Let him be sent to judicial custody and produced before the court on May 23,” the magistrate said.

After the court pronounced its order, Kejriwal was taken into the lock-up on the court premises amid tight security and later to Tihar Jail in the evening.

AAP volunteers had also staged a protest outside gate no. 4 of the jail after Kejriwal’s arrest. Section 144 (a ban on assembly) was imposed outside the jail as policemen dragged away leaders Yogendra Yadav and Sanjay Singh to calm the situation. Yadav, along with other leaders, complained being mishandled and said they were “only protesting peacefully.”

Senior advocate Pinki Anand, who appeared for Gadkari, opposed the contentions of defence counsel, saying there was no procedure in law to furnish an undertaking and law should not vary for anyone.

The court had on February 28 summoned Kejriwal as an accused in the case, observing that statements allegedly made by the AAP leader had the effect of “harming the reputation” of the complainant.

The party disapproved of the magistrate’s decision and said in similar cases earlier, the court has offered relief to Kejriwal by accepting an undertakings instead of a bond.

“There are at least four precedents in which courts have accepted the undertakings given by Kejriwal in similar cases and did not insist on a bail bond,” the party said.

Gadkari had also filed a criminal defamation case against former information and broadcasting minister Manish Tewari for making “libellous statements”. However, Gadkari had withdrawn the case after Tewari had offered an unconditional apology on April 30.

Congress and BJP both slammed Kejriwal and called it a “publicity stunt.”

“The type of politics that Kejriwal is continuously pursuing in this country has been grossly and thoroughly rejected by the people of India…I don’t think any more dramas of this nature would help him,” BJP leader Harsh Vardhan was quoted as saying by news agency Press Trust of India.