DDCA scam: Defamation plea filed against Arvind Kejriwal, Kirti Azad

New Delhi: DDCA and its Vice-President Chetan Chauhan on Friday filed a criminal complaint against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and suspended Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Kirti Azad for attempting to defame the cricketing body by making scandalous remarks.

The petition, which is likely to come up for hearing before the court on February 8, alleged that these defamatory statements were given by Kejriwal and Azad, who himself is a member of the DDCA, perhaps to remain in the public eye and to gain political mileage.

"The aforesaid actions of the accused (Kejriwal and Azad) have severely damaged the credibility and reputation of the complainant (DDCA) in the eyes of thousands of cricket lovers, citizens of India as well as internationally," the petition said.

"It has always been a serious apprehension, which has come true in the present case, where provocative statements, irrespective of their falsity, have entered the realm of the internet and social media, and are being republished and forwarded again and again, making it next to impossible to squelch the same. Therefore, the unwarranted conduct of the accused should not go unpunished," the petition, filed through advocate Sangram Patnaik, said.

The plea alleged that Mr Kejriwal had made "scandalous" remarks against the DDCA before the national television due to which the cricketing body and Chauhan have suffered irreparable loss in the public eye.

It claimed Mr Kejriwal's "false" statements were immediately endorsed and repeated by Mr Azad.

It referred to Mr Kejriwal's interview to a news channel in which he had allegedly said that apart from the financial irregularities, there were other major wrong doings in the DDCA including "sex racket".

"That the accused being public figures chose the platform of media, being fully aware of the scope of damage that would be caused to the reputation of the complainant by their false allegations," the petition said.

"The making of such false statements by the accused is proof of not only their negligent conduct, but also of their malicious intentions," the plea alleged.

It further claimed "it is evident that the accused have chosen the time of their liking, for reasons yet to be fully divulged, in making false statements in order to harm, lower, damage and jeopardize the credibility and reputation of the complainant in the eyes of the public."

The plea, while denying all the allegations levelled by Mr Kejriwal and Mr Azad, said they have purportedly given "wholly incorrect and false, baseless and grossly defamatory" statements against the cricketing body.