Arun Jaitley files fresh Rs 10 cr defamation suit against Kejriwal

NEW DELHI: Union minister Arun Jaitley on Monday filed a fresh defamation suit against Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, demanding Rs 10 crore in damages over alleged defamatory remarks made in court against him by the Aam Aadmi Party leader’s lawyer, Ram Jethmalani.

Citing certain terms used by Jethmalani during a cross-examination in the Delhi High Court in an earlier defamation case, the suit said the defendant made those remarks “brazenly and with a mala fide intent to cause further prejudice, damage and loss to the name, reputation and credibility of the plaintiff”. The suit, filed by lawyer Manik Dogra, also demanded that Kejriwal pay the litigation costs of the case.

The senior BJP leader had filed the earlier suit against Kejriwal and AAP leaders Ashutosh, Sanjay Singh, Kumar Vishwas, Raghav Chadha and Deepak Bajpai over certain statements he said were “false, malicious and per se defamatory”.

In that suit, too, he had sought Rs 10 crore in damages. That suit is at the cross-examination stage, with Kejriwal’s lawyers cross-examining Jaitley’s witnesses. Jaitley himself was cross-examined by Jethmalani on May 6 and 7, and again on May 15 and 17.

Jaitley has now accused Jethmalani of subjecting him to “numerous questions, terminologies/statements that are ex facie abusive, malicious, offensive, irrelevant and slanderous” on Kejriwal’s instructions. As per the suit, when the joint registrar presiding over the court specifically asked Jethmalani whether he was using such words on instructions from his client, he had said “yes”.

The remarks made by Kejriwal’s lawyer were heard by a number of lawyers, court staff and journalists inside the packed courtroom, the suit said.