The Delhi High Court on May 17 expressed its reservations over senior advocate Ram Jethmalani’s remarks against FM Arun Jaitley in the civil defamation case filed by Jaitley against Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and other AAP leaders. Jethmalani, who was representing Kejriwal in the High Court, had called Jaitley a crook while cross-examining the FM, besides spewing other allegations against him. He had even gone ahead and claimed in the court that Kejriwal had instructed him to do so.
On Thursday, the issue came up when one of the AAP functionaries against whom the defamation case was filed, submitted an application before Justice Manmohan. The application sought to make changes in his earlier response to Jaitley’s accusations.
Lawyers representing Jaitley raised a hue and cry in the courtroom, demanding that the Delhi CM must make clear his stand on the issue before the court. One of the lawyers Rajiv Nayar pointed out that if Kejriwal had prompted Jethmalani to make derogatory remarks, Jaitley would ask for more damages, in addition to his original Rs 10 crore, from the Delhi CM.
Justice Manmohan came down hard on the tone and tenor of language used by Jethmalani during the cross examination. The judge said that if Jethmalani had indeed made the remarks at the behest of Kejriwal, the Delhi CM will have to appear in court and testify.
—India legal Bureau