New Delhi: Noted criminal lawyer Ram Jethmalani will represent Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the civil and criminal defamation suits filed against him by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.
Jaitley yesterday filed both civil and criminal defamation cases against Kejriwal and five other AAP leaders for allegedly defaming him and sought Rs 10 crores in damages and their prosecution for offences that entails a punishment of up to two years in jail.
“Ram Jethmalani will appear before court for Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal,” a senior official of the Chief Minister’s office told media. The official said Kejriwal will seek day-to-day hearing in the case.
Earlier, a defiant Kejriwal asserted that the Aam Aadmi Party will not be scared by defamation suits against him and other AAP leaders by Jaitley and asked him to prove his innocence before the one-man Commission of Inquiry announced by Delhi Government to probe alleged irregularities in the Delhi and District Cricket Association.
The Chief Minister also slammed BJP for protecting the Finance Minister despite facing charges of alleged irregularities during his tenure as DDCA chief for around 13 years till 2013. “I would have taken resignation if there were so much evidence against any of my ministers as I had taken the resignation of Jitender Singh Tomar and Asim Khan. BJP is shamelessly defending Jaitley,” Kejriwal said in a series of tweets.
“By filing defamation case, Jaitley is trying to hurt himself. He is caught in his own web,” Arvind Kejriwal added.
