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Yamuna water-poisoning remark: Former Delhi CM Kejriwal did not appear in Sonipat court, next date of hearing on March 20

‘Proofs’ were handed over to Arvind Kejriwal’s counsel Bhuvesh Malik in a pen drive.

Arvind Kejriwal skips Sonipat court appearance in Yamuna poisoning case.

Former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal did not appear in the Sonipat court in Haryana on Monday. The Sonipat court had issued a notice asking Kejriwal to appear before it in connection with a criminal complaint filed against him for his ‘Yamuna river poisoning’ remark.

In his place, Kejriwal’s lawyer Bhuvesh Malik appeared in the court. Advocate Malik apprised the court that the prosecution did not supply them with the proof and evidence based on which the criminal complaint was filed against Kejriwal. On his submission, the ‘proofs’ of Kejriwal’s remarks and other related evidence were handed over to advocate Malik in a pen drive.

Haryana Irrigation Department’s executive engineer Ashish Kaushik had filed the criminal complaint against Kejriwal in Sonipat court on the basis of social media clips in which the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor can be seen accusing Haryana of “poisoning Yamuna river waters”. Kejriwal’s remarks sparked off a political furore ahead of the Delhi Assembly polls.

The case has now been listed for March 20.

On February 4, a day before the Delhi polls, the Haryana Police had also registered an FIR against Kejriwal under various provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Act. The FIR was registered in Kurukshetra based on a complaint by Shahbad resident Jagmohan Manchanda.

Kejriwal and others were booked under Sections 192, 196(1), 197(1), 248(a), and 299 of the BNS Act for alleging that the Haryana government had “poisoned” the Yamuna’s waters.

The FIR states: “The complainant is a public-spirited person and an advocate by profession… Therefore, he is competent and entitled to file this complaint in the Hon’ble Court against Shri Arvind Kejriwal and other members of the Aam Aadmi Party for committing offences under Sections 61 read with 109, 192, 196, 197, 248 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, and Section 62 read with 109, 192, 196, and 197 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.”

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