December,21,2015: Accompanied by dozens of supporters, cabinet colleagues, MPs, MLAs and lawyers, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley filed a criminal defamation case in a city court against Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and five senior AAP leaders. Jaitley also filed a separate civil defamation suit seeking Rs 10 crore as damages before the Delhi High Court.
The criminal defamation plea, which was heard before the court of Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) Sanjay Khanagwal, has sought action against Kejriwal, Ashutosh, Sanjay Singh, Kumar Vishwas, Raghav Chadha and Deepak Bajpai under sections 499, 500, 501, 502 of the IPC for offences that involve making and disseminating defamatory statements. These carry a maximum prison sentence of two years and a fine.
The complaint relies on tweets, Facebook posts and press statements made by the AAP leaders, targeting Jaitley for alleged corruption in the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA). Jaitley was the president of the body till December 2013.
The AAP had raised allegations over the money spent on the construction of Feroz Shah Kotla stadium, and sponsorship deals with a company for use of private boxes.
Jaitley alleged that the AAP leaders had “collectively undertaken a false/malicious defamatory campaign” to “gain political mileage and other unwarranted benefits at the cost of causing irreversible damage” to him and his family, as they were “political opponents of the BJP”.
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