Arun Jaitley opposes AAP leader Ashutosh's plea in defamation suit
Ashutosh, represented by senior advocate HS Phoolka, told Joint Registrar Kovai Venugopal, that additional grounds were not only inconsistent to the pleadings of the original plaint but were also unnecessary, frivolous, scandalous, vexatious and would prejudice, embarrass and delay fair trial.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, who has filed a defamation suit against Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and five others, on Tuesday opposed in Delhi High Court the plea of AAP leader who claimed that fresh allegations levelled against him by the complainant should be struck off.
Jaitley was responding to the application by AAP leader Ashutosh, who alleged that the Union Minister has "exploited the opportunity of filing replication (a plaintiff's reply to the defendant's plea) for the purpose of introducing fresh allegations of defamation to make out a fresh case".
The application was filed in a suit in which Jaitley has sought Rs 10 crore in damages from Kejriwal, Raghav Chadha, Kumar Vishwas, Ashutosh, Sanjay Singh and Deepak Bajpai for issuing allegedly false and defamatory statements against him and his family in connection with alleged irregularities in the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) when he was its President. The minister has already denied all allegations.
Ashutosh, represented by senior advocate HS Phoolka, told Joint Registrar Kovai Venugopal, that additional grounds were not only inconsistent to the pleadings of the original plaint but were also unnecessary, frivolous, scandalous, vexatious and would prejudice, embarrass and delay fair trial.
Senior advocates Rajiv Nayar and Pratibha Maninder Singh, who appeared for Jaitley, opposed the application contending that Registrar has no domain to hear it and the same should be transferred to the regular court which has jurisdiction.
On this, the Joint Registrar also said that it can only hear this application with the consent of both the parties.
"This application be listed for hearing before the court on March 10," Joint Registrar then said.
Jaitley in his reply had told the court that Kejriwal and five other AAP leaders had launched a "calculated" defamatory campaign against him and his family with "ulterior motives" to get political mileage. He had said the right to freedom of speech and expression was "not absolute" and it "did not extend a licence to anyone to defame any other citizen having fundamental rights under the Constitution". He had made the submission in response to the written statements filed by Kejriwal and others on a civil defamation suit filed against them by him.
Jaitley had filed the suit in the backdrop of attacks on him by Kejriwal and other AAP leaders over alleged irregularities and financial bungling in DDCA of which he was the president for about 13 years till 2013.
The minister also filed a criminal defamation complaint in a Delhi court on the same issue. Now, DDCA has also filed a criminal defamation suit against Kejriwal and Kriti Azad.