Jaitley Defamation case: Delhi HC imposes Rs 5,000 cost on Arvind Kejriwal for delay in filing reply

The Delhi High Court on Monday imposed Rs 5,000 cost on Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for the delay in filing a reply on defamation filed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

On May 22, Jaitley had filed a fresh defamation suit of Rs 10 crore against Arvind Kejriwal over the use of an 'objectionable' word by Delhi Chief Minister's lawyer Ram Jethmalani in the court.

Jaitley, 64, has filed a civil defamation against Kejriwal and five AAP leaders -- Raghav Chadha, Kumar Vishwas, Ashutosh, Sanjay Singh and Deepak Bajpai -- for accusing him of financial irregularities in the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) of which he was the President from 1999 to 2013.

The allegations were denied by the union minister.

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.

The court had on August 25 rapped the Delhi Chief Minister for questioning a single judge's decision to expedite the hearing of a defamation suit filed by Jaitley.

It had said that the court had to answer the apex court on delay in trials.

The AAP leaders had allegedly attacked Jaitley and his family members in various fora including social media over the alleged irregularities and financial bungling in the DDCA.