After Arvind Kejriwal's apology, Delhi HC disposes off defamation suit filed by Arun Jaitley

In his letter to Arun Jaitley, Arvind Kejriwal had said that the allegations made by him were based on information and papers furnished by certain individuals who represented to have first-hand insight into the DDCA's affairs.

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Tuesday disposed off the defamation suit filed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for levelling allegations of corruption against the BJP leader. The HC closed the defamation suit after the Delhi CM apologised to Jaitley for the remarks and the latter accepted it. 

Kejriwal had tendered an apology to Jaitley in a letter on Sunday. He had said: "I unequivocally withdraw all the allegations made by me in question whether in print, electronic or social media against you. I offer my sincere apology to you and your family members for any harm caused to your reputation as a consequence of my allegations."

Thereafter, the two leaders had moved an application before the Delhi High Court seeking withdrawal of the defamation case. Along with Kejriwal, four other AAP leaders - Sanjay Singh, Ashutosh, Deepak Bajpai and Raghav Chadha - had also apologised to Jaitley for their allegations.

In his letter, Kejriwal had stated that the allegations made by him were based on information and papers furnished by certain individuals who represented to have first-hand insight into the DDCA's affairs but had "recently discovered that the information and the imputations contained therein are unfounded and unwarranted and I was clearly misinformed into making these allegations". Kejriwal also said that he did not approve of senior advocate Ram Jethmalani`s "disparaging and malicious" remarks against Jaitley. 

Levelling defamation charges against the Delhi CM, Jaitley had asked for Rs 10 crore as damages before a magisterial court in December 2015. He had claimed that the charges affected his reputation. 

Over the last fortnight, Kejriwal has tendered apology to former Punjab minister and Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia, Union minister and former BJP President Nitin Gadkari for making "defamatory" comments. He has said that legal cases were eating up a lot of his time and resources and was he was not being to fully focus on the governance on Delhi due to it. There are over 30 defamation cases against Kejriwal filed in different courts across the country.

However, his apology spree is not going down well with many AAP leaders. Those making small donations to the party are also believed to have questioned the logic behind the apologies.

(With agency inputs)