Arvind Kejriwal was summoned as an accused by the court earlier and granted bail (File)
A Delhi court on Wednesday acquitted Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in a criminal defamation complaint filed by BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri in 2016.
Ramesh Bidhuri, MP from South Delhi parliamentary constituency alleged that Arvind Kejriwal had made a defamatory statement, under section 500 (defamation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The BJP leader alleged that Mr Kejriwal had defamed him in an interview to a news channel.
Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Vishal Pahuja on Wednesday acquitted the chief minister in the matter. The Delhi chief minister himself was present in the court while the judgment was passed.
Ramesh Bidhuri in his defamation case told the court that Arvind Kejriwal's statements had maligned his image.
He claimed that during the interview, Arvind Kejriwal had falsely said that "serious" criminal cases were pending against Ramesh Bidhuri, but the Delhi Police were not taking action against him.
He also claimed that no case was pending against him and added that Mr Kejriwal had defamed him with his statement.
The Delhi chief minister was also summoned as an accused by the court earlier under section 500 defamation of the IPC, and later granted bail.