Arun Jaitley was called a "crook" by Arvind Kejriwal's lawyer Ram Jethmalani in court last week
Highlights
- Lawyer Ram Jethmalani is representing Arvind Kejriwal in court
- He called the Finance Minister 'a crook' during cross-questioning
- High Court has called the comment 'scandalous'
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has asked for Rs 10 crore more as damages in a second defamation case against Arvind Kejriwal, after being called a "crook" in court by his lawyer Ram Jethmalani. The Delhi High Court is likely to hear the case tomorrow. Mr Jethmalani used the word last week while questioning the minister in court.
The new case is only against Mr Kejriwal and will be separate from the ongoing defamation suit against the Delhi Chief Minister and five other Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders.
The High Court had last week called the comments "scandalous".Last Wednesday, as Ram Jethmalani called him "a crook", the Finance Minister asked if the slur had been sanctioned by the Chief Minister. When Mr Jethmalani said it had, Mr Jaitley said he would seek "aggravated damages."
"He (Arun Jaitley) is a crook and I will show this," Mr Jethmalani had said. To Mr Jaitley's immediate objection, he added, "Let the court note that I am doing this with my client's consent."
Mr Kejriwal has been named along with top leaders from his AAP in separate criminal and civil cases.
Mr Jaitley has said that Mr Kejriwal has made baseless allegations against him publicly; accusing him of corruption during his 13-year-term as head of the DDCA, the powerful cricket body that governs Delhi and its surrounding areas.
The Chief Minister's choice of Ram Jethamalani as his main lawyer generated controversy when last month, it emerged that his government attempted to pay the 93-year-old's legal fee of nearly four crores.
After massive criticism, Mr Jethmalani said he would represent the Chief Minister without any charges.