Jaitley files fresh defamation suit against Arvind Kejriwal

New Delhi, May 22

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Monday filed a fresh defamation suit of Rs 10 crore against Arvind Kejriwal in the Delhi High Court for allegedly using an objectionable word in court.

The hearing regarding the fresh suit is likely to take place in the High Court on Tuesday.

Jaitley did this after Kejriwal’s counsel Ram Jethmalani confirmed that Jaitley was called a ‘crook’ after being instructed by his client to do so.

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The fresh suit was filed after Jethmalani accused Jaitley of being “guilty of crimes and crookery”.

Earlier on Thursday, amidst an ongoing tense round of cross-questioning between Jailtey and Jethmalani, the former was perturbed after being referred to as a ‘crook’ by the 93-year-old veteran lawyer, in his defamation case against the Aam Aadmi Party convener, resulting in a verbal spat between the two parties.

Baffled by the ‘abuse’ hurled at him, Jaitley demanded a clarification from the senior counsel whether this was the result of a personal tiff, to which Jethmalani clarified that the term was used under the instructions of Kejriwal.

Developing on this premise, senior advocates Rajiv Nayar and Sandeep Sethi, who were representing Jaitley, alleged that the matter was transcribed as a duel between Jaitley and Jethmalani, rather than between Jaitley and Kejriwal.

Jaitley had filed a criminal defamation complaint against Kejriwal and five other AAP leaders for allegedly defaming him, in the Patiala House Court, while a civil defamation case was filed in the Delhi High Court.

Jaitley had also filed the suit seeking Rs 10 crore in damages after Kejriwal and five other AAP leaders had accused him of irregularities and financial bungling in the DDCA, of which Jaitley was the president for 13 years until 2013.  Agencies