New Delhi: A Delhi court on Saturday sent notice against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and other Aam Aadmi Party leaders in a defamation case filed by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.
Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Sumit Dass framed the defamation notice against Kejriwal and others.
Kejriwal and the other accused pleaded not guilty. The trial in the case will commence on 20 May.
Jaitley had filed the criminal defamation complaint alleging Kejriwal and five AAP leaders defamed him in the Delhi District Cricket Association (DDCA) controversy.
Jaitley, who was the DDCA president from December 1999 to December 2013, said the claims against him and his family members lowered his dignity in the eyes of the public, adding their statements were false.
Jaitley had on 21 December, 2015 filed the criminal defamation case against them and sought their prosecution for offences that entail a punishment of up to two years in jail.
Besides the criminal defamation case, Jaitley has also filed a civil defamation suit before the Delhi High Court seeking Rs 10 crore in damages from Kejriwal and the five AAP leaders, for issuing allegedly false and defamatory statements against him and his family in connection with alleged irregularities in DDCA when he was its president.
