During the hearing of Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s Rs 10 crore criminal defamation suit against Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and some others in the Aam Aadmi Party at the Delhi High Court in the second week of May, Kejriwal’s counsel Ram Jethmalani had called Jaitley a “crook”.

On Jethmalani insisting that it was his client who had asked him to call Jaitley by that name, Jaitley had filed another defamation suit, for Rs 10 crore, specifically against Kejriwal. The court had said that Kejriwal would have to testify in court and a notice was issued to the Delhi CM following the last hearing in late May.

At the Delhi High Court on Friday (July 14), in the court of Joint Registrar Pankaj Gupta, senior counsel appearing for Jaitley said: “I am requesting this application to be what was found at the last hearing when the counsel used the objectionable word.”

Anupam Mishra, counsel for the defendant (Kejriwal) said: “I am appearing for Arvind Kejriwal and for defendant No. 6. We want some more time to file the reply. The registrar asked who was appearing for defendant No. 4. He was told that so far nobody, but a new counsel Sanjay Tripathi has appointed.”

Mishra said as he was not aware of the circumstance and wanted two weeks time for reply.

The matter was adjourned to July 18.

—India Legal Bureau