Arvind Kejriwal, five other AAP leaders will appear in Delhi court in connection with the defamation case filed by Union Minister Arun Jaitley (File photo)
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and five other AAP members will appear in a Delhi court today in connection with the defamation suit filed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley for issuing allegedly false and defamatory statements against him and his family in connection with alleged irregularities in the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) when he was its President.
The other AAP leaders summoned by the court are Ashuthosh, Kumar Vishwas, Sanjay Singh, Raghav Chaddha and Deepak Bajpai.
The union minister has sued Mr Kejriwal and five other leaders of his Aam Aadmi Party over their allegations of corruption in Delhi's cricket board the DDCA, which Mr Jaitley headed till 2013. Mr Jaitley has filed a criminal defamation case and a civil suit demanding Rs. 10 crore in damages.
The minister has already denied all the allegations. Mr Kejriwal and the others have claimed that the suit was "a classic instance of political vendetta" with a view to "harassing" them and curbing their right to free speech.
In his complaint, Mr Jaitley had said that Mr Kejriwal and other AAP leaders, with common intention, have from December 15 undertaken "a false, malicious and defamatory campaign against him and his family members for political mileage causing irreversible damage to him."
"Kejriwal has falsely stated that money was siphoned off and I was the beneficiary," Mr Jaitley told the court today, and also said, "During my tenure as DDCA president, I have not received any money from anybody."
Mr Jaitley, who is a well-known lawyer, spoke in court himself as he recorded his statement.