NEW DELHI: A Delhi court put Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and five other Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders on trial in a criminal defamation case filed by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. During the proceedings, the court also barred persons who were not linked to the case after all the accused complained of serious threat.
Union Minister Arun Jaitley has filed a criminal case against six AAP leaders, including Kejriwal.
Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) Sumit Dass started the proceedings after minutes-long argument between advocates representing both parties. Later, the judge asked all the persons to go outside the court room, barring those who were concerned with the case. The CMM framed a notice against Kejriwal and other AAP leaders -Ashutosh, Kumar Vishwas, Sanjay Singh, Raghav Chaddha and Deepak Bajpai -after they pleaded not guilty.
Earlier, on January 30, the court had dismissed Kejriwal's plea seeking to be heard on point of framing of notice.
Jaitley had filed the complaint alleging that the accused had defamed him in a controversy regarding Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) which he headed for over a decade. A civil defamation suit has also been filed by Jaitley before the Delhi High Court in the matter seeking Rs 10 crore as damages.