The Delhi High Court today dismissed Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s plea questioning the decision of a judge to expedite hearing of a defamation suit filed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley against him and five other AAP leaders.
A bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar said the appeal filed by Kejriwal and AAP leader Ashutosh against the July 26 decision of a single judge was “misconceived and is devoid of merit”. The bench said, the appeal is dismissed.
The high Court observed that expedition of trial is the “need of the hour” and recommended the same in all cases. Kejriwal and five other AAP leaders had accused Jaitely of corruption as the president of the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA), a post he had held from 2000 to 2013.
Jaitley, who denied all the allegations levelled by the AAP leaders in December 2015, had claimed that they made “false and defamatory” statements in the case involving the DDCA, thereby harming his reputation.