put chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on trial

alleged irregularities and financial bungling

Arun Jaitley defamation case: Arvind Kejriwal put on trial

NEW DELHI: A Delhi court on Saturdayin a criminal defamation case filed against him by Union finance minister Arun Jaitley in the DDCA matter.Advocates from both the sides indulged in a heated argument over non-appearance of Jaitley after chief metropolitan magistrate (CMM) Sumit Dass started the proceedings.The accused, including Kejriwal, who were present before the court complained of "serious threat" after which the judge asked all the persons to go outside the court room, barring those who were concerned with the case.The CMM framed notice against Kejriwal and other AAP leaders - Ashutosh, Kumar Vishwas, Sanjay Singh, Raghav Chaddha and Deepak Bajpai - after they pleaded not guilty and claimed trial.The trial in the case will commence on May 20.Jaitley had filed the defamation suit in 2015 seeking Rs 10 crore damages from Kejriwal and AAP leaders Kumar Vishwas, Ashutosh, Sanjay Singh, Raghav Chadha and Deepak Bajpayee, claiming that they made "false and defamatory" statements in the case involving DDCA, thereby harming his reputation.The AAP leaders had allegedly attacked Jaitley and his family members in various fora, including social media, overin the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA), of which he was the president for about 13 years till 2013.Earlier, the Delhi high court had dismissed Kejriwal's plea seeking details of bank accounts, tax returns and other financial records of finance minister Arun Jaitley in the defamation case.The high court said that Kejriwal's plea, which also sought the bank statements of Jaitley's family members and companies in which he or they had over 10 per cent shareholding, was a "fishing or roving enquiry" and did not have any merit.(With inputs from agencies)