Arun Jaitley defamation suit: Delhi HC reserves judgment on Kejriwal plea for stay

Arvind Kejriwal

The Delhi High Court Monday reserved its order on Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s plea for stay on the proceedings before a trial court in a criminal defamation case filed against him and other AAP leaders by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

“The judgment is reserved,” Justice P S Teji said after counsel for both parties concluded their arguments on the plea challenging the trial court’s May 19 order by which it had turned down the chief minister’s request to adjourn hearing on a criminal defamation case before it, till the high court decided the civil suit before it.

Senior advocate Ram Jethmalani, appearing for Kejriwal, submitted there were two cases — one civil and the other criminal — and argued that the “power to stay can be exercised by postponing the matter also”.

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Opposing the contention, senior advocates Harish Salve and Siddharth Luthra — representing Jaitley — said that in “today’s world, the words used are more powerful than a sword”.

Luthra said, “No prejudice would be caused to the AAP leaders if both the civil suit before high court and the criminal proceedings before the trial court go contemporaneously.”